Chennai: Man steals phone from store, held

Chennai: The city police arrested a 28-year-old man for stealing mobile phones from a showroom under the pretext of buying it.

Police said, the accused, Aaron of Nerkundram, an interior designer by profession, took to stealing mobile phones as he could not earn enough in his field. Aaron confessed to having stolen high-end mobile phones, posing as a customer. He would also take his wife along to mobile stores and snatch them away.

According to police, a mobile phone shop manager in Arumbakkam, who lost a phone worth Rs 65,000 to Aaron, identified him from the CCTV footages at his shop, and lodged a complaint with the police. Meanwhile, he was arrested by the police on Thursday. Arumbakkam police said that they did not arrest his wife as she was not aware of her husband’s habit.

After questioning Aaron, police said that while his wife was talking to the shopkeeper about the price and other things about the mobile, Aaron would put the phone away in his bag, leaving the box out, giving the salesperson an excuse that he would buy the phone later.

He would sell these mobile phones at Ritchie street for half its price, police said. He was arrested from his house in Nerkundram and police recovered five high-end mobiles that he had stolen from the shops. Investigations are on.

Earlier on Thursday, police arrested a 26-year-old man who also stole a mobile phone from a showroom in Aminjikarai, under the pretext of buying it.