Hyderabad police nab interstate gang involved in theft of Telecom equipment worth Rs. 60 Lakhs

HYDERABAD: The sleuths of the Commissioner’s Task Force, South Zone Team, Hyderabad, along with Kachiguda police and Adibatla police, have apprehended an interstate gang comprising nine individuals on Tuesday.

They were caught red-handed committing theft of RRUs (Remote Radio Units), RRHs (Remote Radio Heads), BBUs (Base Band Units), and tower cable wires belonging to Airtel networks and JIO networks from various locations across Telangana State.

The police seized 13 Airtel 4G Remote Radio Units (RRUs), one Airtel 5G RRU, eight JIO 4G Remote Radio Heads (RRHs), 600 meters of cable wires, and 10 cell phones, all worth Rs. 60 lakhs.

The accused individuals, B. Naga Raju and M. Nagesh, originally from Suryapet District, relocated to Hyderabad after completing their studies to seek employment. Currently residing in the LB Nagar area, they work as Tower Riggers for Airtel Networks, Hyderabad, under the subcontractor Summit Enterprises, managed by J. Venkata Ramana from Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh.

In pursuit of a lavish lifestyle, they conspired with Airtel Networks Assistant Engineer Ashok to steal RRUs, Base Bands, and cable wires from various Airtel worksites across Hyderabad, including locations within Hyderabad city police commissionerate, Rachakonda police commissionerate, and Cyberabad police commissionerate, such as Khairathabad, Kachiguda, SR Nagar, Madhura Nagar, Meerpet, Vanasthalipuram, Nagole, Hayath Nagar, Shamshabad, and Balanagar.

The stolen equipment was then sold to Shiva, a Hyderabad resident, who illegally profited from reselling them. Shiva, in turn, sold the stolen items to Dilshad Malik, Chand Malik, Shaharyan Malik, and Sohail Malik, Uttar Pradesh natives now residing in Hyderabad and engaged in computer scrap business.

These individuals further resold the stolen equipment to buyers for reuse, thus earning illegal profits. Based on credible information, the Commissioner’s Task Force, South zone team, Hyderabad, in collaboration with Kachiguda Police, apprehended the aforementioned accused individuals and seized the stolen objects.

A case has been registered in Cr. No. 115/2024, U/s 379 IPC of Kachiguda police station and being investigated.

In the second case, the accused individuals Neerudu Chaitanya and L. Ravi Naik, originally from Nalgonda District, relocated to Hyderabad in search of livelihood opportunities. Subsequently, both joined JIO Networks as Tower Riggers. However, L. Ravi Naik later resigned from his job at JIO Networks and became an auto driver.

Motivated by the desire to earn easy money and lead a lavish lifestyle, Neerudu Chaitanya and his former colleague L. Ravi Naik conspired to commit theft of RRHs (Remote Radio Heads) belonging to JIO Networks from their working sites.

Accordingly, they carried out thefts of RRHs from JIO Networks under the jurisdiction of Adibatla and BDL Bhanur police stations, respectively.