Delhi Police Busts Counterfeit Mobile Phone Racket

In a significant crackdown on counterfeiting, the Delhi Police have dismantled an interstate racket engaged in assembling and selling fake mobile phones. Two individuals, Roop Kishore Khandelwal, 45, and Pappu Gupta, 34, were arrested during raids at rented premises in Karol Bagh and Anand Parbat, according to police on Thursday.

Authorities conducted the operation based on precise intelligence, involving a representative from a leading mobile manufacturer to technically validate seized items. Police recovered 1,658 mobile phones ready for the market and vast quantities of components, including IMEI chips, scrap handsets, motherboards, chargers, batteries, and display screens, all used in refurbishing devices.

Preliminary investigations revealed the duo had been running the illegal operation for nearly two years, sourcing parts from scrap dealers in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and West Bengal. The counterfeit phones were distributed throughout Delhi and other Indian states including Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, ultimately resembling branded devices.