India, Oct. 3 -- The Chunabhatti police have busted a major international racket involving mobile phones stolen across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) that were then smuggled into Bangladesh and sold there. Eight people, including two from West Bengal, have been arrested, and 183 stolen handsets worth around Rs.30 lakh have been recovered.

According to the police, the gang members acted as aggregators for disposing of stolen mobile handsets by transporting them across the border to Bangladesh after changing their International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers, which are unique 15-digit codes assigned to every mobile device.

Sameer Shaikh, deputy commissioner of police (zone 6), said that six of the arrested accused are Mumb...