Thane: The Wagle Unit 5 of the Thane Crime Branch cracked a major mobile phone theft case, arresting a 28-year-old man and recovering 30 high-end smartphones collectively valued at over Rs 5.3 lakh.Acting on a tip-off, police zeroed in on the suspect—identified as Akbar alias Papa, a native of Siddharthnagar in Uttar Pradesh—who was hiding in a chawl near Chinchoti Lake in Naigaon East, Palghar district. A coordinated raid on Feb 19 led to the arrest of the accused, Akbar Shaukat Ali Shah. Investigators said Shah evaded arrest by frequently shifting locations and allegedly lived under a false identity.
A search of his rented accommodation yielded smartphones of various popular brands. Preliminary investigation linked the recovered devices to a theft case registered at Kasarvadavali police station under Sections 331(4) and 305 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The operation was carried out under the supervision of DCP (crime) Amarsingh Jadhav and ACP (Detection 1) Shekhar Bagde. The team was led by senior police inspector Salil Bhosale of Wagle Unit 5 and assistant police inspector Jagdish Gavit, who continued to probe the case. Police personnel Uttam Shelke, Raghunath Garde, Tejas Thanekar and Nilesh Shedge were also part of the operation.
