The Capital Police have arrested 5 habitual offenders from several areas of the Itanagar Capital Region (ICR) and recovered around 16 mobile phones from them.
Capital superintendent of police Jimmy Chiram on Sunday said five youths namely, Langda Tanu (21), Hamam Tachung (20), Margang Tanak (20), Maring Bagjam (23) and Mai Rebi (20) have been arrested by police after several cases of mobile, wallet and bag snatching were reported in various police stations under ICR.
“Based on numerous complaints of snatching, the police formed a team consisting of Naharlagun sub-divisional police officer Rike Kamsi, inspectors Khiksi Yangfo and Tadu Hassang, sub-inspector SS Jha, constable K Samyor and others to trace out the miscreants,” Chiram said.
“These bike-borne miscreants would snatch these objects from random people and in most of the cases, they were using two-wheelers which had no number plates,” the SP said.
“Accordingly, electronic surveillance was carried out and following ground intelligence collection, the team managed to get hold of the five robbers and recovered sixteen cell-phones from them,” Chiram added.
Chiram said some of the recovered mobile phones have been handed over to the owners.
The Itanagar Capital Region SP said all the five miscreants are drug addicts, who after snatching the mobile phones from the people, would sell them to unsuspicious people, mostly illiterate or old-aged.
After selling the phones, they use the money to procure drugs from Assam, he said.
The SP said a drive to regulate the plying of non-registered two-wheelers in the township area was also conducted by the Capital Police following which seventeen vehicles were impounded and fined.