Bhubaneswar, Aug. 17: Chandrasekharpur police today arrested a 20-year-old mobile phone thief and recovered 26 mobile phones from his possession.

The arrested has been identified as Manoj Kumar Baral.

The police said this was the third major recovery of mobile phones in the past 10 months. In December last year, Saheed Nagar police had arrested two minors of a mobile snatching gang and recovered 20 mobile phones from the accused. The accused had admitted to stealing more than 100 mobile phones from various parts of the city.

Kharvela Nagar police had busted a mobile theft gang and arrested eight youths, including five minor students, studying in various educational institutes. The police had also seized 50 mobile phones worth Rs 6 lakh from the members of the gang.

The police said that a number of youths in the city were involved in mobile snatching to earn easy money. "The snatchers mostly target students and women who use mobile phones while walking on the road or driving two-wheelers. The accused have been using high-speed motorcycles to escape from the spot immediately after snatching the phones," said a police officer.

The police also asked people not to buy the stolen phones.