Fake mobile phones racket busted in Delhi, two arrested

The Delhi Police has busted an interstate racket involved in assembling and selling counterfeit mobile phones and arrested two men from central Delhi, an official said on Thursday.

The accused, identified as Roop Kishore Khandelwal (45) and Pappu Gupta (34), were apprehended following coordinated raids at two rented premises in Karol Bagh and Anand Parbat areas, he said.

Acting on specific intelligence, a team conducted the operation in the presence of an authorised representative of a leading mobile manufacturer, ensuring technical validation of the seized items.

“During the raids, police recovered 1,658 ready-to-use mobile phones along with a large quantity of components, including IMEI chips, scrap handsets, motherboards, chargers, batteries and display screens. Equipment used for refurbishing devices,” the police officer said.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the accused had been running the illegal operation for nearly two years, procuring discarded mobile phones and components from scrap dealers in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and West Bengal.

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“These were refurbished using locally sourced parts, fitted with manipulated IMEI numbers and repackaged to resemble new branded devices. The counterfeit phones were supplied in Delhi markets, including Gaffar Market, and distributed to other states such as Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan,” he said.

A case has been registered, and further investigation is underway.