Eight held over mobile phone forgery

A Correspondent :

Several gangs in Chittagong have been changing the unique identifiers of mobile phones, which law enforcers often use for tracking suspects.
Counter Terrorism Unit(CTU) of Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) arrested eight men suspected of changing the IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) numbers of stolen phones in Fatickchari upazila and the city’s Riazuddin Bazar on Sunday.
Officers seized 92 stolen mobile phones from their possession. Of the phones, IMEI numbers of 36 were already changed.
The arrestees are Nur Nabi, 40, Ali Hossen, 30, Tarek Hossen, 24, Ajit Chawkrabarty, 43, Saber Ahmed, 26, Mizanur Rahman, 21, Ariful Islam Shaon, 18, and Main Uddin Jihan, 18. Shahidullah, deputy commissioner of CMP Detective Branch, said Nabi and Ali are suspected muggers while the rest of the arrestees are mobile phone sellers and repairmen.
Additional Deputy Commissioner Humayun Kabir said the gang has been changing IMEI numbers of mugged or stolen phones before selling them to unsuspecting customers.
“Police arrested Nabi and Ali in the city on Sunday with two stolen phones and interrogated them about the places where the phones are sold,” Humayun said.
Based on information gleaned from them, a police team raided a mobile phone store in Fatickchari in the evening and arrested Ajit with 15 phones. IMEIs of 12 of the 15 phones were already changed.
Humayun added that police then raided three other stores and recovered many stolen phones.