Several Children 'Recruited' By Thieves, Trained To Steal Phones

Police arrested four children and seized 30 mobile phones from them in Indian City of Mumbai recently. It was later on revealed, that a gang of thieves were recruiting juveniles and training them to steal phones from crowded areas.

Police said these children were brought to Mumbai from others parts of India on the pretext of getting them a job and given “special training” on how to steal mobile phones. The investigation is ongoing and police is looking out for the gang who trained these children, Times Now News reported.

The discovery came to light from after Yellow Gate police received several calls regarding cell phone theft and most of them, suspected children to be the thieves. Accordingly, police laid a trap in order to catch the culprits. They then noticed some children walking among crowds in a suspicious manner and immediately arrested the four minors. During questioning, all the four confessed to have stolen phones for a living.

Police then searched the rented room that the children lived in and found 30 stolen cell phones. The children also told police that they changed their rooms every month to avoid any type of suspicion.

Police said the arrested children were between the ages 12 and 15. They were not only trained to steal but also taught how to flee from a scene if caught.

There were more such children in the gang who stole cell phones in other states in the country and worked according to festive seasons and mingled in densely populated areas to commit the theft.

The children also said that they were previously sent to other states like Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh to steal and all cell phones were being sold in the neighbouring country, Bangladesh.

In a similar incident last year, two siblings were arrested for stealing high-end mobile phones in the Indian city of Mumbai. Investigation revealed that children then handed over the stolen phones to their mother who would then sell them online.

The incident came to light when the two brothers went to a mobile shop and bought a phone. They then told the shop owner that they worked close by and that they would return soon with the money. However, they did not return and the owner filed a police complaint. Initially, police weren’t able to track the phone as it was switched off, however, when the phone was switched on a few days later, they traced it and found the person using it. The person told cops that he purchased the phone online. Police investigation led to the arrest of the children and their mother, India Today reported.