Police arrested five people from two separate gangs and recovered 23 stolen mobile phones and three bikes.
Pavan Kumar, Gowtham and Ranganath, all three residents of North Bengaluru, were arrested by Rajagopalanagar police inspector B R Jagadish and his team during the course of an investigation into a mobile phone robbery reported on November 24. Twenty-one phones and two bikes, all worth Rs 6.5 lakh, have been recovered.
Kumar is a habitual offender and was arrested by Nelamangala Town, Jigani and Beguru police for two-wheeler thefts and dacoity bids. He was released on bail.
Ranganath was arrested by Jigani police for preparing to commit dacoity. He was also arrested by Bagalagunte police for stealing bikes and robbing mobile phones.
The arrests helped the police solve cases registered at Rajagopalanagar and Bagalagunte police stations. Police have so far traced the owners of 16 stolen mobile phones.
The gang's latest exploit occurred on the night of November 24 when it snatched the phone of Sudip Majhi, 20, in Chamundipura, Laggere.
In a separate case, Vidyaranyapura police arrested Syed Waseem, 27, and Anees alias Anwar, 24, both from East Bengaluru, and recovered two mobile phones and a two-wheeler from them.
The duo had robbed the phone of one Surendra in Ramachandrapura in broad daylight on December 4. They were previously arrested by Bharathinagar and Madanayakanahalli police for house break-in and robbery.