Scrap-dealer gang selling stolen mobile tower batteries busted

Police busted an interstate gang involved in the sale of stolen remote radio units (RRUs) and batteries from telecom network towers in Delhi and its neighbouring states, with the arrest of the kingpin and his four associates from Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, officers said on Thursday.
They recovered 146 batteries and two RRUs worth around ₹1.7 crore in raids at their godowns. Police said all five members were scrap dealers by profession.
“Interrogation of the arrested men revealed that they purchased stolen batteries and RRUs from their associates in Bulandshahr and Meerut. Each battery has 15 cells and it costs between ₹1 lakh and ₹1.25 lakh. The gang members sold the cells to people dealing in sale, purchase and repair of e-rickshaws. They sold each cell for ₹1,500 to ₹2,000. The cells of the mobile tower batteries are stronger and last longer after every charge, when compared to the regular batteries installed in e-rickshaws,” an investigator from the crime branch, requesting anonymity, said.
The accused were identified as Mohammad Farukh, 42, the leader, and his associates Wasim Ahmed,40, Abdul Talib,49, Mohammad Shahid,29, and Hardeep Kumar, 37. Farukh was arrested from his scrap godown in Chand Bagh, Delhi, on October 17 and the others were held based on information provided by him.
The gang has sold nearly 300 mobile tower batteries after stealing them from Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh in the past few months by thieves connected to the group. With the arrests, 41 theft cases registered at police stations across the five states were solved, deputy commissioner of police (crime) Sanjay Kumar Sain said.
Police said they ascertained that the stolen units were also being smuggled out of the country and they are probing the matter further.