India, March 10 -- A 24-year-old man suspected to be a member of an international crime syndicate that dealt in stolen phones was arrested with 48 phones worth Rs.20 lakh near the Salimgarh Bypass, north Delhi, over the past week, police said on Sunday.

They said that stolen phones from Delhi-NCR are transported to West Bengal, where they are modified and repackaged to give them a new look, smuggled into Bangladesh and sold as refurbished cell phones.

The accused, identified as Mohammad Abdush, of West Bengal, smuggled over 800 phones over the past year and a half, police said.

Deputy commissioner of police (crime) Aditya Gautam said that the syndicate is based in West Bengal but it sends members to steal phones from passengers in publ...