Phone snatching: Two juveniles, shop owner held

Dozens of mobile phones, five laptops, two-wheelers and cash were seized from the two gangs.

Following suspicion, the Abiramapuram police secured two juveniles during patrol on CP Ramasamy Road. ‘Based on their inputs, S Vikram (18) and M Dinesh (19) of T Nagar were arrested and a two-wheeler was recovered from them.

During inquiry, they confessed to snatching mobile phones in and around Abiramapuram and selling them at a shop in Parry’s Corner. Following this, the shop was raided and 72 mobile phones, believed to be stolen handsets, were recovered. The police arrested the shop owner S Syed Ibrahim (28) of Madhavaram. While the minors were sent to a government observation home, the other three were remanded in judicial custody.

In another incident, the Kanathur police arrested six persons, including a 17-year-old boy, for robbing construction workers at knifepoint and recovered four mobile phones and three bikes.

The accused were identified as K Ganesan (24), K Balaji (22), S Manikandan (22), R Mohanakrishnan (28) and K Anandhan (26) of Tiruvanmiyur.

The gang along with the minor went to an under-construction site in Panaiyur on Wednesday afternoon, threatened the workers at knifepoint and robbed their mobile phones, Rs 10,000 and a pair of silver anklet, said police. Based on a complaint, Kanathur police registered a case and arrested the suspects. All five men were remanded in judicial custody on Saturday.