ISLAMABAD
It has been years since the central International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) system was introduced in the country to trace and block stolen cell phones, but the capital city police is yet to avail the system, the use of which will lead to revolutionising the police’s performance in recovering stolen cell phones, apprehending criminals and curb the rapidly rise phone-snatching crime, Pakistan Today has learnt.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) – in collaboration with the Central Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) – introduced the IMEI system in 2006 across the country for blocking mobile handsets that are stolen or lost. However, since the IMEI is yet to be made available to capital police, criminals manage to snatch roughly three cell phones every day in the city, a police official said requesting anonymity.
Police take months to investigate or trace mobile snatchers after a victim lodges the first information report (FIR) with any police station in the federal capital. Due to the absence of this facility, the capital police are completely dependent on PTA and mobile companies for tracing or blocking a snatched mobile. Consequently, the entire process takes ages to complete.
In the majority of cases, he continued, police fails to trace the snatched mobile phones and arrest the thieves, which has encouraged criminals to continue with this method of making instant money. However, in cases where the snatched cell phones belong to influential people, police request the agencies or mobile companies for tracing the mobiles after the FIR has been registered in the police station.
“Every case takes months when it is sent for the process to the secrete agencies or mobile companies therefore the police has so far failed to trace the majority of snatched phones,” he said.
