How kids are trained to steal mobile phones in Mumbai

They may be children but theyre not kidding around when it comes to crime Four minors arrested last month for stealing mobile phones have since revealed that they are part of a huge gang of more than 30 kids filching phones across the city and even in other states But its hardly fun and games to prevent getting caught the young felons follow strict rules including what kind of phones to steal no iPhones allowed and a daily schedule of where to strikemidday had reported last month how four minors aged between 13 and 17 were caught stealing phones in south Mumbai The accused revealed how their entire gang operates on a wellplanned system where everything is decided in advanced from the target areas to which phones to stealWhile one child grabs the target and pretends to beg another flicks their phone Two others keep an eye out for cops Representation PicHow they do itThe mastermind of the gang deploys the minors in groups of four of which one poses as a beggar The child first zeroes in on the targets and then grabs their leg and pretends to beg in earnest Even as the unsuspecting targets attempt to free their leg the second group member flicks their phone The third and fourth children are posted as lookouts for copsThe accused said they were paid incentives anywhere between Rs 1000 and Rs 3000 depending on what phones they managed to nick Samsung models are the most preferred followed by Oppo then Vivo and finally MiWhat they stealDespite the fact that the latest iPhone models are worth twice as much as the Samsung flagship phones the mastermind has issued clear instructions to the young thieves to not touch iPhones at all Even if they end up stealing iPhones by mistake the kids are instructed to dump them before heading back to their homes or the gangs denSurekha Kapile senior inspector at Yellow Gate police station told midday The accused said that iPhones are much easier to locate because of a tracking feature called Find My iPhone which can result in their arrest Other phones dont have such an advanced feature claim the children We are verifying their claimsWhere they goEven their daily schedules are mapped out depending on where crowds are expected to be thickest in the city An officer said The minors revealed that their bosses have divided their duties on the basis of days of the week or particular festivals On Friday they are deployed at Haji Ali on Tuesdays they go to Siddhivinayak Temple On regular days they strike the peak hour commuters at CSMT and Churchgate railway stationThe detained minors told the police that the gang is not only active in Mumbai but also operates in other states During the Ganpati festival they maximise profits by striking Mumbai Pune and Nashik districts During Navratri they head to Gujarat and on Makar Sankranti they hit Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh The stolen phones are smuggled to Bangladesh via Jharkhand Many of the kids in the gang were also recruited from the same stateThe four minors are currently lodged in the Dongri childrens home In case their parents arrive to take their custody the police will verify their identity and documents as they fear that the gangs bosses might try to pose as their guardiansDino MoreaDont mess with iPhonesThe Find My iPhone feature helped actor Dino Morea track down his phone on his own after it was stolen in 2012 With the help of the app the Bandra police arrested the culprit just hours after he had burgled the actors house and filched his iPhoneIncentivesSamsung Rs 1000 to Rs 5000 for phones costing more than Rs 3040000 Oppo and Vivo Rs 1000 to Rs 3000 Mi Rs 1000Celling points1 What the juavenile thieves revealed 2 Samsungs rule this black market too Oppo close second Mi not in demand3 iPhones are a strict nono due to their powerful Find my iPhone feature4 Juveniles work on an incentivebased model earning between Rs 1000 and Rs 5000 Festivals across religions are big days for the phone thieves5 They hop from town to town on trains with their handlers looking for big pay days6 Stolen phones are routed to black markets in Bangladesh via JharkhandCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates