04 September,2026 12:50 PM IST | Thane | mid-day online correspondent
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Thane city police have traced and recovered 180 missing mobile phones, many of which had been sold across Maharashtra and neighbouring states, officials said on Friday.
The recovered handsets have a total estimated value of Rs 19.59 lakh.
Police said the devices were traced with the help of the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) portal, which enables authorities to track and identify missing mobile phones using their unique equipment identification details.
According to officials, investigators used the CEIR portal to trace the missing handsets and identify their locations and current users.
The recovery operation involved several challenges as many of the mobile phones had changed hands after being reported missing.
Some of the devices had been sold outside Thane city and were being used in other parts of Maharashtra and neighbouring states, officials said.
Police teams tracked down the people in possession of the handsets as part of the recovery process.
Officials said police personnel contacted the current users of the recovered phones and informed them about the legal implications of possessing property that had been reported lost or missing.
The current users were subsequently persuaded to hand over the devices to the police, officials said.
The operation resulted in the recovery of 180 mobile phones with a combined estimated value of Rs 19.59 lakh.
Police said the recovered devices will be handed back to their original owners after the necessary court clearance.
The recovery is expected to provide relief to people who had lost their mobile phones and had reported the devices to the police.
Officials said the use of the CEIR portal played an important role in tracing the phones, particularly in cases where the devices had been resold and moved outside the city.
The recovery operation also highlighted the difficulties faced by investigators in tracing missing electronic devices after they are sold or transferred to multiple users.
In several cases, police had to trace the devices across different locations before identifying and contacting the people currently using them.
The Thane city police said the recovered handsets would be returned to their owners after completing the required legal formalities and obtaining court approval.
(With inputs from PTI)
