Hyderabad: Sleuths from Hyderabad task force sleuths on Friday busted an international smartphone smuggling racket with the arrest of 17 persons, including five Sudanese nationals. Police seized 703 phones, including iPhones, worth a staggering Rs 1.75 crore.
The arrested included Mohd Muzammil, Syed Abrar, Syed Saleem, Pathan Rabbani Khan, Mohd Athar, Mohd Zakir, Shaik Azhar, Mohd Khaja Nizamuddin, Syed Layeeq, Shaik Azhar Moinuddin, Mohd Shafi and J. Yalamanda Reddy and Sudanese nationals Khalid Abdelbagi Mohamed Albadwi, Abdalelah Ahmed Osman Babiker, Aymn Mohammed Salih Abdalla, Anas Siddig Abdelgader Ahmed and Omer Abdalla Eltayeb Mohamed.
“Muzammil and Abrar snatch phones after terrorising passersby during late nights in isolated areas, especially in Bandlaguda, Falaknuma, Bahadurpura, Mangalhat and Hayathnagar police station limits. They later sold the stolen phones to one Mohd Saleem. Some of these accused like Mohd Shafi have shops Jagdish Market, Abids, from where they were purchased at low prices by Albadwi and his associates, who exported them via sea route to Sudan. A mobile repair shop was run at Jagdish Market by Yelamanda Reddy, who specialised in stolen iPhone mobiles," said Hyderabad police commissioner K. Sreenivasa Reddy.
