Delhi Police have busted a gang with links in Nepal involved in a cross-country network for the sale and purchase of snatched and stolen mobile phones, an official said on Monday, adding that the operation led to the arrest of four criminals, including a husband-wife duo, and the recovery of 226 mobile phones.

The accused were identified as Arjun a.k.a Prem (26), his 24-year-old wife; Himanshu a.k.a Mota (19) -- all residents of Paharganj and Jagarnath Kumar (28) -- a resident of Madhubani in Bihar.

According to police, on May 19, at 3.35 p.m. specific information was received regarding the activities of Arjun, who is also involved in incidents like attempts to murder, snatching, robbery, theft and the Arms Act, that he was expected to come at Kamla Market to move/send snatched/stolen mobile phones to a preferred market in Nepal by bus or train.

"A trap was laid by the police team near Ajmeri Gate red light, Kamla Market and Arjun and his wife were nabbed. Further upon search, a loaded pistol along with seven live rounds was recovered from accused Arjun and upon searching of car the team uncovered a cache of stolen mobile phones concealed within cartons in the car's trunk, amounting to approximately 150 devices of various brands, 140 adapters of mobile charger, 90 USB cables," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) M. Harsha Vardhan.

On questioning, Arjun revealed that he along with his wife were actively engaged in the smuggling of stolen mobile phones to Nepal via the route passing through Madhubani, Bihar.

"To get good profits from this work, he influenced his wife and his friend Himanshu and involved them in this work. He also contacted the criminals who were involved in theft, robbery and snatching and started buying expensive stolen mobile phones for Rs.4,000-5,000 and selling them in Nepal for Rs 10,000-15,000 through his other associates," said the DCP.

"He further stated that 4-5 days ago, Himanshu went to Nepal along with 90 stolen mobile phones for selling. Further, 51 more mobile phones were recovered, leading to a total of 201 mobile phones," said the DCP.