Guwahati city police on Monday night apprehended a dreaded mobile thief in the guise of an auto-rickshaw driver at Dhirenpara area. 

Acting on intelligence inputs, a team of Basistha police conducted an operation late Monday night and raided a house where they apprehended the said mobile thief who was disguised as an auto-rickshaw driver. 

Upon searching, the police recovered 23 stolen mobile phones from his possession. The arrested thief has been identified as Ranjan Das. 

Sources said that Ranjan strategically stole these phones from a courier service and sold them at a lower price to unsuspecting customers.

An investigation to unearth further linkages is on, police said. 

Last month, a notorious mobile thief who allegedly stole over 2,000 mobile phones, was caught by Dispur Police in Guwahati. As per the reports, the detained thief was identified by officials as one Ahinur.

Officials informed that there are over 2,000 cases of mobile thefts against Ahinur's name registered in various police stations across Guwahati.

Elucidating on his modus operandi, the police said that he first swipes the mobile phones from people and then sells them in Bangladesh leaving behind no traces.