PANAJI
In one of the biggest drives against the pick pocketing menace during the busiest last week of December 2022, the North Goa police busted multiple gangs of mobile thieves and recovered as many as 148 expensive phones from their possession.
The recovery is valued at a whopping Rs 1.50 crore with maximum seizures reported in Calangute which records the highest tourist footfalls annually.
Plain-clothed policemen besides senior officers with their teams were posted at various points from Christmas to New Year's Day to zero in on suspects and crackdown on the nuisance creators.
“A maximum of 116 mobiles are recovered from 11 accused in the jurisdiction of Calangute police station. In all, our district police stations registered several FIRs of mobile thefts, arrested 58 persons and recovered 148 mobiles and other valuables from December 25, 2022 to January 1, 2023,” North SP Nidhin Valsan said.
The coastal belt witnessed numerous parties to usher in the New Year as lakhs of tourists thronged the State after a two-year lull due to Covid pandemic.
In the first case, Goa police busted an inter-State gang of 12 members just before they could sneak into Sunburn electronic dance music (EDM) venue at Vagator to target more revellers with high-end phones. The joint team of North Goa police, Crime Branch, Anti-Narcotics Cell, and forensic experts seized 41 mobile phones from their possession, value of which was estimated at Rs 30 lakh approx.
In a follow-up action at Anjuna, another 18-member gang of thieves was arrested and 29 phones, costing Rs 10-15 lakh were seized. The district police formed anti-mobile theft teams to nab thieves targeting visitors at tourist places and party venues.
Several FIRs were registered as theft victims, most of whom were tourists, approached the police stations to lodge complaints of stolen mobile phones and other expensive valuables from their possession.
