Noida The Noida Police busted an inter-state gang involved in stealing valuable equipment from mobile towers across the national capital region (NCR) and other states as it arrested eight alleged members of the gang during a late-night operation on August 9 and 10, said officers on Sunday.
The arrests followed a brief exchange of fire near the service road close to the Bakhtawarpur underpass in Noida’s Sector 97, opposite Mayoor School foot overbridge, that left two of suspects injured, they added.
Police identified the suspects as Abid, 45; Farooq, 35; Faizan, 27; Mohammad Kaif, 21; Mumtaz, 26; Mohammad Moin, 26; Istkhar, 35; and Ayan, 20; all from different parts of Uttar Pradesh and most of them residing in Tronica City, Ghaziabad.
“ … With their capture, we have prevented further disruption to telecom services in the region,” said Noida’s deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Yamuna Prasad.
“Raids are underway to trace their remaining associates and recover more stolen material,” the DCP added.
According to police, the gang travelled in Hyundai Aura cars, conducting reconnaissance of mobile towers during the day and striking at night or in the early morning.
Explaining their modus-operandi, police said, the gang’s targets were RRUs, batteries, and other expensive tower components. Some gang members would climb the towers using tools to dismantle the equipment, which was then loaded into their cars and taken away.
The stolen items were sold in Delhi through two associates, Hatim and Mohsin, for ₹70,000–80,000 per Radio Receiver Unit (RRU) — crucial for wireless communication, and the proceeds were divided among the members, said officers, adding that now raids are on nab these two.
During interrogation, the accused purportedly admitted to committing multiple thefts in Noida, Ghaziabad, Delhi, and Gurugram (Haryana), and being active in other parts of the NCR and beyond, selling the stolen goods primarily in Delhi.
Police said several of the suspects have extensive criminal histories.
Meanwhile, police recovered various things from their possession, including four RRUs of mobile towers, and two bundles of tower cables.
Two blue Hyundai Aura cars – one without a number plate and another registered as HR 38 AF 7805 – were also seized, along with two country-made pistols of .315 bore and two used cartridges, officers said.
The arrested men are already named in multiple ongoing cases registered earlier this year at Sector 39 and Sector 49 police stations in Noida, said police, adding that proceedings under the Gangsters Act will also be initiated against the arrested men.