An operation led by the São Paulo state prosecutors' office (MPSP) with the civil and military police arrested 15 people identified by investigators as members of the "phone theft mafia", a network suspected of stealing, fencing and reselling mobile phones in the state. According to the investigation, the group moved about R$ 460 million over five years. The raid, called Operation Frankmobile, ran on September 10 across São Paulo state and Goiás, and its findings were detailed on Sunday (13) by Fantástico, the weekly news program of TV Globo.
The scale of the illegal market is large. Prosecutors estimate that more than 830,000 phones were robbed or stolen in Brazil in a single year, one device every 38 seconds, and that in São Paulo, the country's largest city, only 6% of devices are ever recovered. The investigation took about two years and mapped a chain split into at least four units: robbery and theft (including smashed car windows in traffic jams, killings during robberies, and thefts at large events), unlocking and access to victims' data, resale, and dismantling for parts.
From Guaianases street to fake IMEIs
Investigators say a phone taken from a victim went quickly to fencing points, where attempts began to reach bank accounts and apps. A protected witness who took part in the crimes and cooperated told prosecutors the devices already had a set destination right after the theft: Guaianases street, in downtown São Paulo.
"We proved that Guaianases street was in fact this essential entrepot for the first fencing of these phones. It is where they begin attempts at bank transfers, and other access to apps and content the victim has on the phone," said prosecutor Luiz Fernando Bugiga.
After fencing, the phones went to units specialized in altering the IMEI, the unique identification number of each handset. Prosecutors say the scheme swapped the IMEI of stolen phones for numbers of inactive devices and exploited weak integration of records among manufacturers, carriers, stores and government agencies. Websites hosted abroad supported the work, fraudulent invoices gave the resale a legal appearance, and a fourth unit dismantled phones to sell the parts separately.
Arrests, sniffer dogs and 60 tons of material
The mega-operation deployed 1,700 officers and served 84 search warrants and seven temporary arrest warrants, all fulfilled according to the civil police. Arrests in the act and of wanted suspects raised the total to 15 people in custody. A court authorized the seizure and freezing of assets and funds above R$ 5 million, and the state treasury suspended the tax registrations of the 18 companies targeted. Prison police sniffer dogs trained to detect chemical components present in the devices were used to find hidden phones. About 10,000 items, including handsets, parts and accessories, were seized; with far too many to count one by one, experts estimated their weight at about 60 tons.
All of those arrested are suspects under investigation, and none has been convicted. The reports by Fantástico and O Globo record no statements from the defense. Authorities say the next steps are the analysis of the seized material, to identify victims and assign responsibility, and the start of proceedings to revoke the registrations of the 18 companies; no dates were announced. To hinder new frauds, the São Paulo state government now requires the IMEI on electronic invoices issued for phone sales.