New Delhi: City cops have managed to bust a gang of three active in West Delhi which worked with mobile thieves to sell stolen phones. The group had software that could change the IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity Number) which is usually used by police to track down missing phones.
A total of 79 phones, a high-tech laptop, and the IMEI-changer software were confiscated from the trio identified as Narabjeet Singh (26), Gurmeet Singh (32), and Manish Singh (23). They are residents of Tilak Nagar who would change the IMEI Number of the stolen mobile phones which would then be sold as second-hand phones in the market. The changed number made it difficult for the police to track down the phones.
“A team of the Hari Nagar Police Station on Saturday apprehended one person named Narabjeet Singh (26) and recovered one stolen mobile phone from him,” the DCP (West) Vichitra Veer said.
The phone had changed IMEI number and was stolen from the Hari Nagar area, the police realized. Further interrogation revealed that Narabjeet's accomplices worked in tandem to supply stolen phones to their shop where they would be 'operated' and resold in the market.
What is an IMEI Number?The 15-digit serial number is unique to every mobile phone in the world and stored in the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR). When people get a new SIM Card after their phones are stolen, police use the IMEI number to track down their missing phone since the number can tell about the phone's details without physical possession. By dialing *#06#, one can access their phone's unique IMEI number.