A man was held on theft charge after 15 stolen mobile phones were recovered from him, said police here on Monday.
He was arrested for theft earlier too, they said.
Acting on a complaint lodged by a sexagenarian in December and three other cases of similar nature registered at different police station in the city, police arrested Bapi Ratan Bhattacharya (48) from Kabardanga More on January 28, a senior police officer said.
Police said the accused confessed to stealing mobile phones from shoppers at malls in Mumbai.
"After being arrested several times there, he shifted his base to Kolkata," police said.
"A total of 15 mobile phones, Rs 33,000 in cash, one gold chain and two rings besides some documents were recovered from him," police added.