Two snatcher gangs were tracked down in an overnight crackdown on Monday. All five were from the port area and had committed a number of crimes, including snatching cellphones.

Sheikh Saukat Ali, Zahid Hossain and Mohammad Riazuddin, all aged between 19 and 21 years, were arrested in connection with a cellphone snatching case on February 14 at Moulali.

Mohammad Riazuddin, 19, snatched Arijit Dasgupta’s cellphone when the taxi he was travelling in halted at the Moulali crossing traffic signal, said Jawed Shamim, the deputy commissioner of police (detective department).

Dasgupta chased the youth but the snatcher jumped on a two-wheeler parked on SN Banerjee Road and sped away. “The criminals used Dasgupta’s phone, which helped us track them down. We conducted a raid and arrested the three,” said Shamim. The cellphone was recovered.

In another raid, officers of the anti-snatching section of the detective department arrested Sheikh Anis, Chima and Sheikh Karimuddin, all between 22 and 25 years old, for snatching a cellphone. The three were riding a motorcycle they had earlier stolen.

The incident took place on January 4, when Saugata Dasgupta was walking along Syed Amir Ali Avenue, speaking on his cellphone. “Sheikh Anis snatched the phone while the three were passing by on a motorcycle. They sped away before Dasgupta could raise an alarm,” said Shamim.

Acting on a tip-off, the police first picked up Anis, who broke down during interrogation, and disclosed the names of the other two.

“Interrogation revealed that the two-wheeler was stolen from the Maidan area and that they had committed another snatching in the Hastings police station area. We are contacting the officers of the two police stations to get a clear idea about the trio’s antecedents,” said a member of the sleuth team.