The police force has detained a mob of nine people drawn in changing the IMEI number of stolen phones. The bunch of criminals was reselling the phones with changed IMEIs in the local marketplace.
The police caught up flashing devices from the culprits which were used to alter the IMEI number on any phone. For those people who don’t know, what is an IMEI number? It is unique given a number to every phone and is used to block stolen phones from functioning.
The police also get in custody and identified one individual named Akhtar who was engaged in supply process of the software used to change IMEI numbers. He was nabbed from Hall Road.
According to a report appeared by City 42 news, the criminal gang also contained an engineer who facilitated them remove all data on stolen mobile devices.
The gang used to charge Rs. 500 per phone for changing the IMEI number. Doing so made the phone undetectable and in working condition again.
This inclination of changing IMEI numbers is worrying, to say the least. Criminals and even terrorists are capable of then use these phones to carry out their objectives, with no terror of being traced back by way of their mobile phones.
Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) and the Karachi Electronics Dealers Association formulated a new plan earlier this year to make sure that stolen phones couldn’t be sold at the markets. Shopkeepers were recommended to fill out a form for each used mobile phone they bought, as well as the IMEI number. The shop keeper could then confirm those details prior to buying it from the CPLC helpline 1102, and by this approach, any stolen sets could be recognized. The new procedure made the shopkeeper accountable for following the standard operating procedure (SOPs).
However, since this policy involves making use of IMEI numbers, their hard work may prove to be inadequate.
The FIA needs to look into this subject immediately and take the suitable measures to chastise criminals who caught up in this practice.
