Police bust mobile phone theft racket linked to courier service

Police have busted racket involving the theft of expensive mobile phones sent to the country through courier service and arrested six suspects including employees of the said courier service and labourers from a manpower agency. 

Katunayake Airport Police had received a complaint regarding the loss of an iPhone sent from abroad and then thereafter they had initiated investigations, which were later handed over to the Divisional Crime Detective Bureau of Negombo on the orders of the SSP Negombo.

The Divisional Crime Detective Bureau reinitiated the investigations and they have managed to recovered 16 stolen iPhones from phone shops located in Kandy, Divulapitiya and Minuwangoda areas, the police spokesman DIG Ajith Rohana said.

In addition to that the DCDB officers have arrested 06 suspects in this connection are looking to arrest three more suspects. Three suspects are employed as supervisors at the courier service while another 06 suspects are labourers of a manpower service which provides labourers to the courier service.

According to the investigation, it has been revealed that on the instructions of the said supervisors the employees of the manpower service break the air cargo boxes in which the mobile phones arrive and steal the contents. 

The value of the stolen iPhones has been estimated as Rs. 3 million. Further investigations are being conducted by the DCDB Negombo, the police spokesman said.

He stated that the arrested suspects have been produced before the Negombo Magistrate yesterday and they were ordered remanded until the 10th of May, 2021.

He requested those with the same complaint in respect of the loss of an iPhone or any other mobile phone through the same courier service, to kindly contact the OIC of the DCDB Negombo (071-4024042) for further investigations.