JEDDAH, 20 March 2005 — Cell phone shops are increasingly adopting new ways to limit sales of stolen phones. Many of them ask these days for a copy of the ID of the person who wants to sell his cell phone. The copy is for the store to keep in case the cell phone turns out to be a stolen one. This has made many cell phone thieves to think twice before selling their stolen phones to stores.
But some people who seek to sell their cell phones refuse to give their IDs for fear that cell phone shops may use the copy to issue SAWA card in their names. Storeowners however insist that the new procedure is to limit the sale of stolen cell phones, which has of late increased dramatically. Mobile phone snatchers are becoming bolder, more sneaky and aggressive in their operations, residents say.
Mutasim Jada, a 28-year-old Saudi, was robbed of his mobile in front of a hospital last week. An African man approached him and opened the driver’s door of his car while he was waiting in it for his mother to finish her appointment with her doctor.
Jada said, “He opened the door and I nearly fell as I was leaning on the door but he prevented my fall. The man, who looked to me like a Somali, said in a shaky voice that he was sorry for startling me and asked for directions.” Soon, another man opened the front passenger door and snatched his mobile and took to his heels followed by the man who was holding the other door ajar. “As I got out of my car the two men were already across the street and were running like hell,” said Jada.
He reported the matter to a nearby traffic officer and pointed out the two men who had covered some ground by then but were still within sight. “The police officer handed me his mobile in order for me to disconnect my phone line but didn’t report or go after the two men,” Jada said.
Another theft victim was Husam, a Yemeni resident in his 30’s. He was approached by a man of African origin who told him that someone was calling for him. He got out of his car and looked around but no one was in sight. As he got back into his car and drove off he looked for his mobile and wallet that was on the dashboard; both had vanished. He reported the theft to the police since his Iqama was in the wallet and they told him to go look for it in the Somali market at Kandarah. A few days later a man called him on his home phone.
“He had a Lebanese accent,” said Husam. He told him if he wanted his Iqama he would charge him SR2,000 and that he would meet him in the Somali market. “I bargained with the man and I agreed to pay him SR1,400.” When he asked him about his mobile he laughed and told him to go look for it in Palestine Street.
Abdullah Salem, a 34-year-old Saudi, had a different story to tell. He had parked his car in an alley off Palestine Street and went to purchase an expensive mobile phone. On his way back, he got into his car and was about to start it when a man opened the driver’s door and stuck a metal object in his back and told him to sit still. Another man opened the passenger door and picked up the new mobile, while the first man ordered Abdullah to hand him the phone that was in his pocket, and the wallet.
“They both ran off and vanished in thin air,” said Abdullah. “Not only did I get robbed of my new phone, but the old one as well.”
