Gang that stole over 11,600 mobile phones for cyber fraud busted, 8 held

Lucknow: In a major breakthrough, Mirzapur Police have busted an interstate cyber fraud racket that allegedly stole thousands of mobile phones from cities across India, extracted sensitive data from their hardware, and channelled both devices and information into wider fraud networks, including the notorious Jamtara syndicates of Jharkhand.The operation, led by Lalganj police and the Special Operations Group with surveillance support, resulted in the arrest of eight accused and the recovery of 11,605 mobile phones valued at nearly Rs 1 crore. The arrests were made on Tuesday after police, acting on a tip-off, intercepted a truck near Tendui Toll Plaza and caught the men while transporting the consignment. Those arrested have been identified as Mohammad Anarul, Mohammad Dil Faraz, Sitabul, Haseebur Rahman, Sabir Alam, Mohammad Ahmad, Mohammad Hasan and Mohammad Shafiq, all residents of Bihar's Katihar and Purnia districts. According to superintendent of police Aparna Rajat Kaushik, the gang had built a highly organised network spanning Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai and Mumbai. Members allegedly rented rooms in these cities and worked as delivery agents for e-commerce platforms, a cover that gave them access to residential areas and helped them study the routines of potential targets. Posing as trusted delivery workers, they are believed to have stolen phones through deception, snatching and opportunistic theft during deliveries. Investigators said the stolen devices were later moved to Bihar, where the gang used technical methods to extract data directly from phone motherboards. This allowed them to retrieve information even from damaged or non-functional handsets. Police suspect the extracted material included contact lists, personal messages and financial details, which were either used in cyber fraud or sold onward. The probe has also revealed alleged links to cybercrime operators in Jamtara, with the gang said to be supplying both stolen phones and harvested data to phishing and banking scam networks. Police seized the consignment from truck number UP 62 CT 5893, along with motorcycles.