Surat — The Dindoli police station team has apprehended two individuals responsible for a string of mobile phone snatchings across different areas of Surat city. A total of 71 mobile phones, along with mopeds and other valuables worth Rs 5.52 lakh, were recovered, leading to the resolution of seven outstanding crimes.
Officers were tipped off that two persons, using a blue Access Moped with the number 4044, were committing mobile phone thefts in the Dindoli area for over a month. The suspects were reported to be selling the stolen items near Santoshi Nagar by Bhimnagar Railway Station. Acting on this information, the police set up surveillance in the area, eventually catching the suspects red-handed.
The arrested individuals were identified as Mehul Martinbhai Gohil, the driver of the moped, and Jitu Chhatrapal Sonkar, the pillion rider. Upon searching the suspects, six mobile phones were found on their person, and an additional 51 mobile phones were discovered stashed in the moped's trunk. Preliminary inquiries revealed that these phones were snatched or stolen from various areas of Surat and Dindoli.
A total of six cases of mobile snatching and one case of mobile theft were registered at the Dindoli police station. During interrogation, the suspects revealed that they had sold 10 mobile phones to an unidentified woman in Kanjarwad just two days prior. Four to five women were said to be purchasing phones without bills near the Kanjarwad railway track. During a subsequent raid in Kanjarwad, another woman named Babita Rajnath was caught with 14 mobile phones without bills.
Combined, 57 mobile phones were recovered from the two arrested suspects, and 14 more were recovered from Babita Rajnath, totaling 71 mobiles worth Rs 4.72 lakh. Additional items including a blue Suzuki Access moped valued at Rs 80,000 brought the total seizure value to Rs 5.52 lakh. Seven offenses were solved as a result of these arrests. Efforts are now underway to trace the IMEI numbers of the confiscated phones to return them to their original owners.
