Rs 1.12 crore worth of stolen phones recovered

Tirupati: The Tirupati police have recovered 510 stolen mobile phones worth approximately Rs 1.12 crore and returned them to their rightful owners, thanks to the ‘Mobile Hunt App’—a recent initiative by the AP Police for complaint filing—combined with the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) for efficient tracking and the expertise of the Cybercrime Police.

Speaking to the media on Wednesday, SP Harshavardhan Raju said that most of the recovered mobiles were traced to Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal. He added that the majority of the victims were pilgrims visiting Tirumala from various states, including Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and West Bengal. He further informed that 510 stolen or lost mobiles were recovered over the past three months, and that the Tirupati police have recovered a total of 4,785 mobile phones across 13 phases, amounting to a total value of Rs 10.52 crore.

The SP urged the public to report lost phones immediately by contacting 9490617873 or using the Mobile Hunt App.

Upon filing a complaint through the app, the complainant receives an acknowledgement along with a link to provide detailed information about the stolen device. The police then use the CEIR system to block the phone, preventing misuse of any data stored on it. He also cautioned the public against sharing OTPs, bank account details, or Aadhaar information with unknown individuals.

SP Raju appreciated the efforts of the cyber lab personnel, especially the team led by Cybercrime CI Vinod Kumar. He also acknowledged the contributions of team members Lakshmi Narayana, Prakash, Murali Krishna, Kumar, Nagarjuna, Jagadish Naik, Sivakumar, and Chandrasekhar for successfully tracing the culprits.