Massive surge in RRU thefts disrupts telecom services, leads to nationwide crackdown

GHAZIABAD: RRU is crucial for connecting a call from one mobile number to another. When it is stolen, it affects the calls.
RRUs, which connect wireless devices to a wireless network, are highly expensive and are finding their way to China, Bangladesh, and other countries through the grey market via scrap dealers in West UP and Delhi, the telco claimed.
The cost of one RRU is between Rs 3 lakh and 5 lakh, depending on its range.
A senior official in a telecom company said that the thieves formed a gang to steal RRUs on a large scale. Twenty-nine RRUs were stolen in 2022, but the thefts increased "multi-fold" since last year. In 2023, over 9,000 RRUs were stolen from Airtel’s mobile towers alone, following a sudden surge in demand in the grey market, the company claimed. In 2024, more than 20,000 units were stolen.
"One tower has three to four RRU units as per capacity. The thieves target one tower at a time, and when they steal the RRU, it affects the signals and calls. It took more than 24 hours to make the mobile tower work, and then we used other mobile towers to make the calls possible," he said.
“Now we are also upgrading our security and now we are using the Net Cool Alarm system. In this system, if any thief disconnects a single RRU, it alerts the person who is monitoring it. Then, we informed the local security near the tower. They caught the thief and informed the police. In the last three months, we caught around 30 people in Ghaziabad, Noida, and Delhi, while around 70 people in Uttar Pradesh,” the official said.
In April 2023, the telecom companies wrote a letter to DGP Uttar Pradesh after facing the problem. Following the complaint, the DGP instructed police in Ghaziabad, GB Nagar, Kanpur, Agra, Bareilly, and Meerut to take action against RRU thefts.
The official of the telecom company said that RRUs have no resale value in Indian markets as the country still does not have the technology to reuse these trans-receivers once they are reset. Now the accused are selling them to China. We suspect that technicians in China make the RRUs operational and later sell them to low-income countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
OP Galhotra, former DGP of Rajasthan and a nodal officer in Airtel, said that Ghaziabad police took maximum action against the gang who stole the RRU from mobile towers. "In the last three months, we saw a decline in cases by 30 percent in Uttar Pradesh from its peak. We are also taking precautions to protect our mobile towers," he said.
Ajay Kumar Mishra, Ghaziabad’s Commissioner of Police, said that Ghaziabad was the first police force to make the first arrest in the case. Thus far, the Ghaziabad police have arrested a total of 46 criminals involved in the theft of RRUs, BBUs, and batteries, recovering 222 RRUs worth over 60 crores, 170 BBUs, 39 batteries, and a large number of theft tools, along with 11 vehicles used in the thefts.
“On December 22, 2023, the Crime Branch of Ghaziabad took prompt action to prevent these crimes and arrested 13 members of a gang involved in stealing from mobile towers in the Kavi Nagar area. During interrogation, the names of several scrap dealers came to light who were selling stolen RRUs, BBUs, and batteries to other scrap dealers in Delhi. They were later arrested. From this gang, 8 RRUs, 20 batteries, and 3 vehicles used in the crime were recovered,” he said.
“On May 3, 2024, significant success was achieved by arresting 6 criminals from the Nandgram area and recovering RRUs, BBUs, and batteries. The leader of this gang, Javed Mirapuria, a resident of Gokalpuri, Delhi, operated the gang from Dubai. His gang stole RRUs and BBUs across the country, which were brought to Delhi, packed, and sent to China and Dubai along with other scrap items. Effective action was taken against this gang, resulting in the arrest of 13 criminals,” he said.
“On August 3, 2024, 7 criminals were arrested from the Wave City area, and RRUs and batteries along with vehicles were recovered. This gang also stole RRUs, BBUs, and batteries from various states and provided them to Javed Mirapuria. Action against this gang led to the arrest of 18 criminals. A total of 101 RRUs, 35 BBUs, 15 batteries, and 5 vehicles used in the crime were recovered from Javed Mirapuria and his gang of 31 arrested members. Rewards were announced for 9 notorious criminals of this gang, with Rs 20,000 for 3 criminals, Rs 50,000 for 5 criminals, and Rs 100,000 for the arrest of Javed Mirapuria,” he said.
“Javed Mirapuria's associates, Faheem Malik and Naeem Malik, gradually formed their own gang. Faheem Malik frequently travelled to Hong Kong, China, where he found markets to sell expensive equipment like RRUs and BBUs. He included new members in his gang and began stealing RRUs, BBUs, and other electronic devices from across the country to send to Hong Kong (China). On December 22, 2024, the Crime Branch Police Commissionerate of Ghaziabad took effective action against this gang, arresting 5 key members and recovering 74 RRUs and 122 BBUs stolen from Ghaziabad and various states, along with 3 vehicles used in the thefts,” he said.