|
LIMA, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Peru aims to fight cellphone theft by implementing a strategy that disables stolen gadgets, Interior Minister Carlos Basombrio said on Tuesday.
The strategy should discourage both thieves and buyers of stolen mobiles, the daily Cronica Viva reported citing Basombrio as saying.
"Through a system that we have improved, and that is already being applied successfully in Mexico and Colombia, there will be a total link between the phone and its chip," Basombrio said.
According to the minister, the mechanism is simple.
"Your cellphone has your name, DNI (National Identity Document) and e-mail, and so does the chip. If you put your chip in your cellphone, it will work. If you put another chip in your cellphone, it won't work. That's it, you have stolen a banana peel," said Basombrio.
On Monday, the minister announced that new crime-fighting measures included the creation of a national registry for mobile phones, which could take up to four months to be put in place.
"We have to be a little patient because we have to take several technological measures," he told state news service Andina, adding the government had already coordinated with cellphone operators.
Government figures estimate more than 6,000 mobiles are stolen every day in Peru, a country with just under 31 million people.
In the past year, the crime rate rose 19 percent. Only 12 percent of victims got their phones back.
