Amid hectic election-related duties, officers of the Aluva East police station received a tip-off on Sunday night that the suspect in an earlier theft case was hiding in a lodge near Vyttila Hub.
In a well-coordinated operation, they surrounded the lodge and arrested Imran Khan, a 34-year-old who hails from Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh. In doing so, officers also uncovered a high-tech theft scheme through which Imran had looted cash and electronic gadgets from victims across the country.
The case relates to an incident on January 14, 2026, when a youth from Sampaloor in Chalakudy arrived at an examination centre to attend Tata Consultancy Services’ iON test, a national-level qualifier examination for top jobs. With no proper cloakroom facility available, he kept his wallet and mobile phone in the under-seat storage of his scooter before entering the exam hall. On returning after the test, he found the items missing.
Later, after reaching home, the youth initiated steps to obtain a duplicate SIM card and approached the bank to block his ATM card, which was in his stolen wallet.
He then discovered that `65,000 had already been withdrawn from his account. Following this, he lodged a formal complaint with the Aluva police.
Though initially treated as a routine theft, the seriousness of the case was soon recognised. Station house officer K G Gopakumar reported the matter to Ernakulam rural police chief K S Sudarsan, who constituted a special investigation team led by Gopakumar, with sub-inspectors Josy M Johnson and Anoop, and civil police officers Mahin Sha Aboobacker, Muhammed Ameer and Shahin as members.
“The detailed investigation revealed that the accused used the victim’s SIM card, linked to the bank account, to reset the ATM PIN of the stolen card and withdraw money,” said an officer with the probe team. The withdrawal locations and SIM activity kept shifting across districts, raising suspicion of a wider network behind the theft. Efforts to trace the accused using the stolen phone’s IMEI number proved futile, as the devices were either switched off or frequently moved across different states. Moreover, the probe team continued to monitor locations, but initial attempts yielded no breakthrough.
“Whenever we tracked a SIM used in the stolen phone and contacted the number, it would lead us to another victim who had lost their phone or wallet. The accused never used his own phone to insert these SIM cards or make calls, which made the investigation more challenging,” said the officer.
Refusing to treat it as a routine theft, the team, with the help of cyber experts, persistently tracked multiple SIM cards and their linked IMEI numbers. This eventually led them to a set of digital devices believed to be used by the accused. When one such device was traced to the Vyttila area, it led to his arrest, the officer added.
Mahin Sha, a personnel with the probe team, said the accused Imran had carried out similar thefts in Aluva, Kilikollur in Kollam, Thrissur, and parts of Tamil Nadu, including Coimbatore.
“He typically targeted places such as exam centres, schools and hospitals, where people tend to park vehicles with valuables kept inside, often in storage compartments. While he stole wallets, he also took mobile phones, which he used for his high-tech theft operations.
Imran rarely stayed in one place and travelled frequently (Bhopal on March 23 and Coimbatore on March 27), which often made it difficult for investigators to track him,” said Mahin Sha. He added that inquiries with Uttar Pradesh police revealed that Imran was already wanted in multiple cases there.