POLICE seized around 300 mobile telephones when they raided a phone shop in Bolton.

Officers executed a search warrant at The Phone Market, St Helens Road, Daubhill, at around 11am yesterday after a tip-off.

A search was carried out of the whole business premises which resulted in about 300 mobile phones being seized by police.

Officers began checking the phones and found that a number of them were stolen and linked to burglaries or thefts in the town.

Two men, aged in their 30s, who were running the shop and two men in their 20s, believed to be customers, were arrested on suspicion of theft and handling stolen goods and were being questioned last night.

The raid was carried out by Bolton’s burglary task force as part of Operation Lockdown, which is being led by Insp Barry Short. He said: “We had information that this shop was dealing in secondhand phones which may have come from burglaries and thefts in the local area.”

Bolton Trading Standards were also on the raid and are checking that the shop has been operating legitimately. Insp Short said that the trade in stolen phones can aid criminals, such as drug dealers, who use them because they are almost impossible to trace.

He said this operation was aimed at “frustrating” criminals who use stolen phones and promised more warrants to come.

The Phone Market was closed for business yesterday and no one from the store was available for comment. A description of the shop on the touchlocal.com business directory states that The Phone Market was established in 1995 in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, before moving to Bolton in June 2005. The shop offers a repair service as well as a range of contract phones for sale. The 25-strong burglar task force team is patrolling burglary hotspots and targeting known offenders.

The burglary hotline is 0161 856 5640 or call Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.