Karachi mobile dealers have handed over 3,386 stolen, snatched, and missing mobile phones to the Citizen-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) over the past 10 years.
The recovered phones have a combined value of more than Rs285 million. Dealers identified the devices when customers brought them for resale.
They checked each phone against CPLC records. When the records showed a phone as stolen, snatched, or missing, dealers handed it over to authorities.
231 More Phones Recently Recovered
The Karachi Electronic Dealers Association (KEDA) said dealers recently handed over another 231 suspicious phones to the CPLC.
These phones have an estimated value of around Rs5 million. Authorities are expected to return them to their rightful owners after verification.
The recovery system operates through an agreement between KEDA, CPLC, and local police. Dealers check both new and used smartphones before putting them up for resale.
Dealers Help Stop Illegal Phone Resale
KEDA President Rizwan Irfan said dealers follow standard procedures to keep stolen phones out of the resale market.
Dealers inform sellers when a phone appears in CPLC records. However, some suspected criminals have still tried to sell large numbers of suspicious phones.
So far, dealers and the association have detained around 20 such suspects. They later handed them over to police.
The used mobile phone market remains important for traders and consumers. It offers business opportunities for dealers and lower-cost phones for buyers.
Informal Markets Remain a Challenge
Irfan said stolen and snatched phones still enter informal markets. Some devices also leave Pakistan through smuggling routes toward Afghanistan and Iran.
In 2016, the government considered banning used mobile phone sales. However, traders later worked with authorities to develop a verification system.
The system allows the used-phone market to continue while helping authorities prevent stolen devices from reaching new buyers.
