Police seized 10 purses, 5 mobiles, one stolen bike, one stolen scooty and Rs 7,000 cash from the couple

A young couple infamous as the ''Soni Moni'' gang was arrested in connection with a series of snatching and stealing incidents in West Delhi, police said on Friday.

The accused have been identified as Manish (Moni) and Shabnam (Soni).

As per police statement, the couple used to snatch and steal women's purses and mobile phones using a motorcycle and a scooty.

The police said they both are drug addicts.

"The husband and wife used to spend all of their money on drugs and to meet their requirement for drugs, the couple resorted to criminal activities like snatching and stealing of ladies purse and mobile phones," it said.

After a snatching case was reported in Vikas Puri, the police team checked around 15-20 CCTV footages near the place of incident and managed to collect the footage required in the case. However, it was difficult to identify both of them through the blur CCTV footage.

After two days of the said incident, the couple was spotted in Vikas Puri area on the motorcycle identified by the complainant.

A sub-inspector noticed the couple and he started chasing them and managed to take their pictures.

"The lead reinforced a bout of energy in the team members. On the basis of available leads, the team members started patrolling in the area in plainclothes. The photographs were also shared with police teams. Finally, both got arrested on October 16," Deputy Commissioner of Police West Deepak Purohit said.

Police seized 10 purses, five mobile phones, one stolen bike, one stolen scooty and Rs 7,000 cash from the duo.

It is suspected that the couple is involved in numerous other theft and snatching incidents in West Delhi and its adjoining area, which are being verified, Mr Purohit said.