Police authorities have seized a total of 928 stolen mobile phones in the recently held operation targeting a 19-member gang, the biggest of its kind in Shanghai, reported Shanghai Daily.
The stolen phones reportedly amount to around 4 million yuan.
According to the article, there are 13 suspected pickpockets, a man who allegedly buys the gadgets, and five men who operate a stand selling the gadgets near the Shanghai Railway Station.
Police recounted that the alleged buyer, surnamed Ma, meets with the pickpockets near the station every 10 o'clock in the morning. At around 3 p.m., he sells the phones to the operators of the stand.
Ma buys the stolen gadgets at 1,000 yuan to 3,000 yuan.
The said phones are being sold as second-hand merchandise not only to the buyers at the stand, but also to customers over the Internet, according to Huang Hanke, a police officer from the Shanghai Railway Station branch of Shanghai Metro Police.
The authorities have already managed to identify the owners of around 250 phones, but only 50 phone owners have been contacted.
Huang remarked that they are facing difficulties on this issue. "The job is not easy for us because many of the phones have already been [interfered with] by the suspects."
Some of the victims testified that "they were listening to music with earphones plugged into their phone when they were pickpocketed," the article said.
Cui Lei, one of victims, said that he was not expecting to recover his phone.
"I got a call from the police when I was in Europe on a business trip last month, and I was surprised and grateful," he shared with Shanghai Daily.
Police advise other victims to report if their phones were stolen and present their purchase receipt and the 15-digit IMEI number.