A gang trafficking in stolen cellphones was collared after police caught a pickpocket operating along a bus route, reports Information Times.

The pickpocket was caught at a busy bus stop on August 25 by undercover policemen who were stationed there after a spate of reports of cellphone thefts. "I dropped a coin. You are standing on it," said Liu, the suspect, using an old trick to distract a man about to board a bus.

When the man looked down, one of Liu's accomplices took the cellphone strapped to his belt and passed it on to another accomplice.

Liu was tackled by plain-clothes officers who witnessed the whole scene.

And police laid an ambush at the hotel where he and his accomplices were staying, according to Liu's confession.

Nine men from Hainan Province fell into the trap the next day, in addition to three of Liu's accomplices. A total of 174 stolen cellphones were found on the Hainan men.

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