New Delhi: The Delhi Police on Thursday successfully nabbed two people who had allegedly robbed 11 phones in just five hours.
The two culprits reportedly went on snatching spree on their bike last week.
The two suspects were identified as 19-year-old Arman and 18-year-old Mahtab. The duo had allegedly taken a bike on rent from a gang that lent bikes only to snatchers.
“They paid a rent of Rs 5,000 for six hours,” said Rajiv Ranjan, additional commissioner of police (crime branch), HT reports.
The two suspects targeted only high-end mobile phones which had buyers in the black market.
“On the day of their crime spree, the duo snatched four Samsung phones, three each of Vivo and MI and one of Oppo. Those were all high-end models,” from Delhi’s Narela, Burarri regions said Ranjan.
“They would just keep riding their motorcycle across the city and target anyone who was carrying an expensive phone,” said an investigator.
“The two snatchers rode into our trap near north Delhi’s Mori Gate around 5.30 pm when they were returning home. We recovered all the stolen mobile phones from them,” said a Police officer.
Investigations revealed suspect Arman was found to be involved in 12 snatching cases reported in the last one year, while Mahtab recently turned 18. He was involved in snatching incidents even as a juvenile.
“The gang has been providing motorcycles to dozens of snatchers in outer Delhi neighbourhoods. They charged anywhere between Rs 5,000 and Rs 8,000 for six hours per vehicle,” said Rajesh Deo, deputy commissioner of police (crime branch) after the gang was busted.
“They would buy the phones only after confirming with the motorcycle lender that the rented vehicle was returned. If a motorcycle wasn’t returned, the buyer would assume that the snatcher was caught,” said the officer investigating the case.