Your mobile network could be at risk: ₹1 crore tower theft racket busted, devices smuggled abroad

Three members of an interstate gang that stole expensive electronic units from mobile towers and shipped them to Thailand and Hong Kong were arrested by police who recovered stolen goods worth about Rs 1 crore, officials said on Friday.

Joint teams of the SWAT unit, crime branch and Tronica City police caught the accused, identified as Adnan Alias Arjun, Amir and Saurabh, while they were stealing remote radio units (RRUs) from a mobile tower in the Tronica city area, additional commissioner of police Raj Karan Nayyar said “We arrested three during a joint operation after specific intelligence,” he told reporters.

Wide network across states 

Police said the gang targeted mobile towers across several states, including Ghaziabad, Delhi NCR, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. Acting on the accused’s disclosures, officers recovered 27 stolen items valued at 1 crore in which 20 RRUs, seven baseband units (BBUs), a radio receiver unit opening machine and a BMW car were used in the thefts, the ACP said.

“These components are expensive and in high demand abroad, which is why the gang was smuggling them overseas for big profits,” Nayar explained. According to police, the gang used sea routes to send the equipment to Thailand and Hong Kong.

But, what do RRUs and BBUs do?

The BBU is the core component of a mobile tower responsible for signal processing and typically costs between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 10 lakh. The RRUs connect antennas with the BBU and are valued at approximately Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 2 lakh.

Confessions and supply chain 

During questioning, Adnan admitted the stolen RRUs and BBUs were sold to associates Sonu, Shenawaaz and Javed, who then arranged for the items to be exported. “The accused told investors that the goods were taken to ports and shipped overseas because market prices are much higher there,” the ACP said.

One of the arrested, Amir, told police he used to do scrap work and had been jailed in 2023 in a murder case related to a land dispute. “I met Anas from Faridnagar inside jail. He introduced me to the idea of stealing RRUs and BBUs from towers and selling them for profit,” Amir said in his statement, according to officers. After release, Amir linked up with Adnan and began targeting mobile towers.

He said he was paid Rs 70000-80000 per unit, while the true value of each device is between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 10 lakh. The third accused, Saurabh, a sanitation worker with the Ghaziabad municipal corporation, admitted to helping steal equipment and handing it over to Amir. “I received Rs 20,000–30,000 for each device I provided,” Saurabh told investigators, police said. 

Mastermind still at large 

Police records show that in 2024, more than 40 people linked to the gang were arrested, and the gang’s alleged kingpin, Javed, had been operating the network from Dubai, police said. He was arrested after returning to India but later released on bail and is now absconding. “We are actively searching for Javed and other members involved in arranging exports,” Nayyar added.

Investigations are ongoing as the probe widens to track the international trafficking ring and other people who facilitated the shipment of stolen telecom equipment.