PANAJI: The Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) portal of the Department of Telecommunications helped the Goa police track several stolen and lost mobile phones in recent days.
The North district police traced and recovered 50 such phones using the CEIR portal, a system which blocks devices through their IMEI numbers and alerts the police when they are reactivated with a new SIM.
These recovered devices were returned to their rightful owners at an event organised by the department today.
"The CEIR portal has been very helpful. Once the IMEI is blocked, the phone cannot be used. When a new SIM is inserted, the system alerts the police, and we can trace it. After verification, we reactivate the IMEI and return the phone to the rightful owner," North Goa SP Rahul Gupta said explaining the process.
Maximum thefts of these phones were reported in Calangute, Panaji and Anjuna. SP Gupta stated that they will continue to organise such programs every 50–100 recoveries to ensure phones are returned to the public as soon as possible.
IGP Goa Keshav Ram Chaurasia, who chaired the event, cautioned citizens about buying second-hand devices. He pointed out that most of the recovered phones were traced to local shops.
“Many stolen or missing phones end up being sold in second-hand markets. Before buying a pre-owned phone, always check the IMEI on the DoT platform. Otherwise, you may unknowingly buy stolen property that will later be seized during an investigation,” the IGP warned.
