Duo arrested for multiple mobile theft cases

Kochi: Central police arrested a youth and his female friend involved in several mobile theft cases, on Thursday. The arrested persons were identified as Ashkar Ali, 26, from Kasaragod and Annmaria, 26, from Thrissur.
According to police, the accused would visit shops together, and the woman would approach potential victims, mostly the staff members, asking to borrow their phones for making an emergency call. Once the victim gives her the phone, the pair would tactfully sneak away from the place with the phone, said police.
The accused were arrested in connection with a case registered for stealing the mobile phone of a staff member at a bakery at MG Road on Wednesday. There are three mobile phone theft cases and a bike stealing case registered against them, police said.
"They used similar tactics to steal the bike too," said an officer. He added that after the mobile theft case on Wednesday, police were on the lookout for them. On Thursday, police received a tip-off that the duo was trying to commit another such theft at a shop in Kaloor.
"We rushed to the shop; however, the woman managed to escape. We arrested Ali and later traced Annmaria to the high court area and arrested her," said the officer. The duo was presented in court and remanded to judicial custody.
Two held for fraud: Kadavanthra police arrested two Tamil Nadu natives for allegedly running a fraudulent stock trading scheme through a Facebook page. The arrested individuals have been identified as Riyas Ahmed Sirajuddin, 24, and Muhammad Usman, 21. The accused allegedly cheated several people, amassing over Rs 52 lakh through the scam.
They were arrested from Trichy, Tamil Nadu. Earlier, police had arrested three others in the case.