Chinese pirated cell phones have become one of the biggest threats to security, it's been alleged.

The International Mobile Equipment Identity(IMEI) number are the specific ID number for handsets, which the pirated cell phones dont have in them. The IMEI number helps  in investigations by tracking the movement of users, since the IMEI number of the handsets are registered with the service providers as soon as a call is made.

A few people were found in border areas of Gujarat, like, Bhuj, Nakhatrana, and Lakhpat in Rajasthan, carrying Chinese mobiles, who could not be traced for the absence of IMEI numbers. Some of these people were labourers in areas close to defence installations.

Even if the GSM service providers in Gujarat have started blocking the mobiles phone numbers without IMEI numbers, still confusion remains wherein, the cloned IMEI numbers are registered with different service providers, since Chinese handsets may come with either duplicate IMEI number or sometimes there are 100-odd same IMEI number.
 
A cyber crime expert from Ahmedabad, Sunny Vaghela, is said to have come across two cases where the user did not get his IMEI number from online application, and that people purchasing cheap Chinese mobile phones, without warranty or authenticity must be aware of the risk related to it, for it is possible for a terrorist to possess the same number.
   
One of the key suspects in the serial blast case could be tracked only due to his IMEI number,even if the suspects had changed three consecutive numbers to misguide police officials. He was caught as, his handset was the same and it was the IMEI number that exposed them, as said by a crime branch official. X