Mumbai has reported over 39,000 cases of stolen or lost mobile phones this year alone — and that’s just up to September. While criminal rackets smuggle handsets out of the country, mainly to Bangladesh, officials say many Mumbaikars are still not fully utilising a powerful tool at their fingertips: the Sanchar Saathi portal. “Many people are unaware of this portal, so complainants do not register stolen mobile phones,” an officer said.
Alarming statistics have emerged showing that 39,257 complaints of mobile phone theft or loss were reported in the city between January and September 2025 alone. These figures come from the Sanchar Saathi portal, launched by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), which allows citizens to report lost or stolen devices.
Last year, in 2024, the portal recorded over 57,098 cases of mobile theft from Mumbai. The Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) helps prevent the reuse of lost or stolen phones. However, once it became clear that CEIR cannot block devices being used outside India, thieves identified a loophole and began exporting stolen Indian phones abroad. In Chembur, a man had his iPhone snatched by two men on a motorcycle about a month ago. After he filed a complaint at Chunabhatti police station, officials registered a case and launched an investigation.
Similar thefts had been reported across Police Division 6, prompting Deputy Commissioner of Police Sameer Shaikh to set up a special task force to crack down on the mobile theft ring. Through coordinated investigations, the task force arrested six suspects — Sachin Gaikwad, Tausif Siddiqui, Amar Shankar, Nisar Hussain, Sadiq Ali, and Mursid Siddiqui — from Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. Two others, Pradeep Gupta and Ajijur Rehman, were arrested in Kolkata. All eight men are known repeat offenders. Police recovered 183 mobile phones valued at `30,48,000 from their possession. Investigations revealed that the suspects were trafficking stolen phones across various Indian states and into Bangladesh.
According to Assistant Police Inspector (API) Swapnil Damre of Chunabhatti police station, the stolen phones were purchased in Mumbai, repaired, and modified before being resold through a well-organised chain. Most of the recovered phones were of Vivo, Oppo, and Samsung brands, which are in high demand in Bangladesh, police said.
According to API Rajkumar Powar, most of the accused are habitual offenders. The investigation revealed that Sachin Gaikwad, one of the key suspects, allegedly bought stolen phones from local thieves and supplied them to Tausif Siddiqui, who sent them to Kopar Khairane in Navi Mumbai. There, mobile repair technicians replaced damaged parts, altered IMEI numbers, changed covers and screen guards, and refurbished the phones to make them appear brand new.
Once ready, the phones were transported to Pradeep Gupta via courier or porter in West Bengal. Gupta then handed them over to Ajijur Rehman, who had direct links to buyers in Bangladesh. Through Rehman’s network, the stolen phones were allegedly smuggled across the border to Bangladesh by crossing rivers via boats where their market value is 35-40 per cent higher than in India. Police said the racket had been active for the past nine months, during which the accused systematically exported stolen Indian phones to Bangladesh for profit.
Portal is phone owner’s friend
The Sanchar Saathi portal is a unified digital platform designed to protect mobile users from theft and fraud. It allows citizens to report lost or stolen phones, which are then blocked across all telecom networks through the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) database. The system ensures that once an IMEI number is blacklisted, the device becomes unusable with any SIM card in India.
The CEIR service was officially launched nationwide by the Department of Telecommunications, Government of India, on 17 May 2023. Initially introduced as a pilot project in 2019 across select states, including Maharashtra, Delhi, and Karnataka, the initiative received a positive response, prompting the government to expand it countrywide.
Since its inception, the portal has received more than 1.5 lakh mobile theft complaints from Mumbai alone, making it one of the cities with the highest number of reported losses in the country. Authorities have urged citizens to use the Sanchar Saathi portal to track and block stolen devices, thereby aiding law enforcement in recovering them and cracking down on smuggling rackets.
“You can instantly block your stolen mobile phone by registering it on the Sanchar Saathi portal. The same platform also allows buyers to verify whether a second-hand device is genuine or reported stolen before purchasing it,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Cyber), Purushottam Karad.
The Sanchar Saathi portal also offers services like TAFCOP, which lets users check how many SIM cards are issued under their name, and a device verification tool to confirm whether a phone is authentic or blacklisted. Users can simply log on to www.sancharsaathigov.in and submit their IMEI number, FIR copy, and ID proof to block their device. Once recovered, the same platform allows the owner to request unblocking. According to officials, the Sanchar Saathi portal has significantly reduced mobile phone theft and helped trace thousands of stolen devices nationwide, improving both telecom safety and consumer awareness.
IMEI also vulnerable
Senior cyber forensic expert Nishant Salunke says, “In countries where changing a phone’s IMEI number is not explicitly illegal, a thriving grey market has emerged that enables stolen high-end smartphones — particularly from India — to be re-identified and resold abroad.” The IMEI, a unique 15-digit identifier embedded in a phone’s motherboard or firmware, can be altered using inexpensive software tools or by replacing the mainboard itself, effectively giving the device a new digital identity.
The Mumbai Police Crime Branch Unit-6 recently arrested two men from Powai for allegedly altering the IMEI numbers of stolen mobile phones. Acting on a tip-off, a team led by PI Bharat Ghone and PSI Dhutraj raided a mobile repair shop at Tunga Village, Saki Vihar Road, and detained shop owner Ramprasad Sargun Rajbhar (37) and technician Gulam Rasool Rashid Khan. They found that Khan used a mobile app unlock tool via Google Chrome to tamper with IMEI numbers and reactivate stolen devices for resale.
The many pros of the Sanchar Saathi portal
The Sanchar Saathi portal also offers services like TAFCOP, which lets users check how many SIM cards are issued under their name, and a device verification tool to confirm whether a phone is authentic or blacklisted. Users can simply log on to www.sancharsaathi.gov.in
>> Submit the IMEI number
>> FIR copy
>> ID proof to block their device.
>> Once recovered, the same platform allows the owner to request unblocking.
Number of cases registered on the portal in 2024
57,098
Police recovered mobiles in B’desh worth
Rs 30L
Mobile theft cases reported in the year 2025 till September
39,257
