Mobile phone dealers in Karachi have handed over 3,386 stolen, snatched and missing mobile phones worth more than Rs28.5 crore to the Citizen-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) over the past decade.
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The phones were identified when customers brought them to mobile dealers for resale. Dealers checked the devices against CPLC records and handed over those reported stolen, snatched or missing to the authorities.
231 Phones Recently Handed Over to CPLC
According to the Karachi Electronic Dealers Association (KEDA), dealers recently handed over another 231 stolen, snatched and missing mobile phones worth around Rs5 million to the CPLC.
The recovered phones are expected to be returned to their rightful owners who had previously registered complaints about the devices.
The recovery is part of an ongoing verification arrangement between KEDA, CPLC and Karachi police, under which dealers check both new and used smartphones against available records before reselling them.
Dealers Check Phones Before Resale
Under the arrangement, mobile dealers are required to verify phones brought to them for resale. If a device is found in CPLC records as stolen, snatched or missing, it is not resold and is instead handed over to the authorities.
KEDA President Rizwan Irfan said dealers have been following standard operating procedures aimed at preventing stolen and snatched phones from entering the resale market.
He said dealers inform sellers when a phone is flagged in CPLC records.
However, Irfan said some suspected criminals have attempted to sell large quantities of suspicious mobile phones, even after being warned.
According to him, dealers and the association have so far detained around 20 such suspects and handed them over to police.
Informal Markets Remain a Concern
Irfan said the used mobile phone market remains important for both traders and consumers, providing better margins for dealers while allowing buyers to purchase relatively cheaper smartphones.
He added that a significant number of stolen and snatched phones are still traded through informal markets and allegedly smuggled across the borders with Afghanistan and Iran.
The comments highlight the challenges authorities face in preventing stolen mobile phones from entering informal resale channels despite verification mechanisms in the formal market.
Used Phone Resale Ban Considered in 2016
The government had considered banning the resale of used mobile phones in 2016 amid concerns over stolen devices entering the market.
Traders later worked with authorities to develop a verification mechanism that allowed the used-phone market to continue operating while introducing checks designed to prevent stolen and snatched phones from being resold.
The cooperation between dealers, CPLC and police has since provided a mechanism for identifying reported devices and returning them to their owners.
