Islamabad Police have busted a major IMEI-changing network involved in erasing mobile phone identities within minutes, arresting 16 suspects during coordinated raids in multiple cities.
According to police, the network was being operated from a posh area of Islamabad, where suspects illegally altered IMEI numbers of stolen mobile phones to make them untraceable. The group primarily targeted high-end mobile phones worth over Rs200,000.
Police said the arrested suspects included the mastermind of the operation, adding that the IMEI-changing racket had spread across Punjab, but has now been dismantled.
The investigation began after the arrest of a mobile phone thief in Islamabad, whose interrogation led authorities to uncover the wider network. Subsequent raids were conducted in different cities of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, resulting in multiple arrests.
Police officials said further investigations are underway to trace additional facilitators and recover stolen devices.