Second-hand phones may link buyers to Crime

A grocery shopkeeper in Trishal thought he had made a good bargain when he bought a Redmi Note 9 Pro cheaply from another person.

He used the phone for nearly three years, unaware that it had a history far more troubling than he could have imagined. The handset had been stolen from Mymensingh Sadar in 2023.

The discovery came only after the phone was traced by the Cyber Crime and CDR Analysis Branch of the 12 Armed Police Battalion (APBn). Assistant Sub-Inspector Md Robel Sharker was involved in the recovery.
The phone was verified and returned to its rightful owner, leaving the shopkeeper to confront an uncomfortable reality that he had bought a stolen device.

The case illustrates one of the biggest risks in Bangladesh’s second-hand mobile phone market. A handset may change hands several times after being stolen or lost, but its digital trail can remain intact and eventually lead investigators to whoever is using it.

The scale of the problem is reflected in the work of the 12 APBn. Over the past year, the unit investigated around 8,500 general diaries (GDs) involving lost or stolen phones and recovered 2,097 handsets of different brands, returning them to their actual owners.

APBn officials said the unit recovers roughly 150 such phones every month.

Investigators often find that phones taken in theft, snatching or robbery are sold to another person within weeks or months. In some cases, criminals deliberately dispose of phones used in crimes to make tracing them more difficult.

But selling the handset does not necessarily erase its history. Every mobile phone carries an International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI), a unique identifier that can be used to trace a device through telecommunications and call-detail-record logs. Once a stolen phone is located, investigators can identify the number being used in it and, depending on the available records, trace the current user and associated address and identity information.

That can put an unsuspecting second-hand buyer directly into a police investigation. The current user may be asked to surrender the handset, explain how it was acquired and cooperate with investigators before the phone is returned to its rightful owner. The buyer can therefore lose both the device and the money paid for it, while also facing questioning and considerable inconvenience.

There is also a legal dimension. Section 411 of the Bangladesh Penal Code deals with dishonestly receiving or retaining stolen property, where the person knows or has reason to believe that the property is stolen. The offence can carry imprisonment of up to three years, a fine, or both.

That does not mean every innocent purchaser of a stolen phone is automatically guilty. But once a buyer is confronted with a handset linked to a theft, the question of how it was acquired and whether there were reasons to suspect its provenance can become important.

Experienced Police officials said even buying from someone familiar is no guarantee. They had encountered cases in which phones purchased from acquaintances were later found to have been stolen.

The trail can also cross borders. Investigators have encountered cases in which phones lost or stolen in Bangladesh were later carried abroad, while Bangladeshis returning from countries such as India or from the Middle East have brought home second-hand handsets only to discover that they originated from theft or loss in Bangladesh.

However, the risks are not limited to ownership and legality. Syeed Zahid Hossain, Chief Consultant of Meet Expert and Adviser to the Cyber Crime Awareness Foundation, said ageing second-hand phones can also present cybersecurity and physical-safety concerns.

Older devices may eventually stop receiving major operating-system and security updates, leaving them more exposed to cyber threats. Used handsets may also contain ageing or damaged lithium-ion batteries, which can overheat and, in extreme cases, catch fire or rupture.

He also cautioned that ageing devices could potentially raise concerns about unsafe radiation exposure, particularly when old phones are often handed to children for watching videos or playing games. He urged greater awareness of a device’s expected lifespan and suggested that authorities consider requiring manufacturers and importers to provide clearer lifespan information when phones are sold.

Japan provides a useful contrast. Its Small Home Appliance Recycling Act covers mobile phones and other small electronics and promotes their collection and recycling, including recovery of valuable materials and measures to protect personal data. A regulation introduced in 2026 has further strengthened requirements relating to used mobile phones and lithium-ion batteries.

For Bangladesh, Hossain said, awareness and policy must move together.

“We need two things: awareness and policy,” he said, stressing that such policies must be properly drafted and implemented by trained personnel.

For a buyer tempted by a cheap handset, the lesson is straightforward: price and appearance are not enough. A second-hand phone does not come with only a second-hand price. It can also come with someone else’s crime, outdated security and an ageing battery or parts. 

That is why the real question before buying a used handset is not simply whether it works. It is whether its history is clean, its data is secure, its software is protected and the device itself is still safe to use. 

A second-hand phone is only a bargain if the device and the trail behind it are clean.

The writer is a Sports Reporter of the Daily Observer