Detectives drawn from the Coast Region Headquarters apprehended Ndaziziye Augustin Umurundi, a Rwandan national believed to be the receiver of stolen mobile phones in the Kisauni area and its environs.
Ndaziziye's arrest was the result of intelligence reports that guided detectives to his residence, police said.
A thorough search of the premises uncovered a trove of ten mobile phones and a power bank, all believed to be pilfered.
Among the recovered devices, detectives successfully identified three phones and linked them to their rightful owners.
The owners said they were robbed of the gadgets in the area.
Analysis is ongoing to identify IMEI numbers and owners of the remaining phones.
Police said they have extended their probe to other reported cases as part of efforts to solve them.
Some gadgets are stolen after victims are harmed or even killed hence serious charges follow.
Such cases of stealing mobile phones have been on the rise in the country.
Most of the gadgets are taken to neighbouring countries where they are refurbished and sold to unsuspecting buyers, investigations show.
Police have also been targeting mobile phone repairs in their probe into stolen gadgets.
Coast police boss George Sedah warned second-hand mobile phone dealers and the electronic engineers or repairers handling the gadgets that they will face serious charges when investigations are completed.
“If you are a mobile phone engineer or repairer stop handling stolen gadgets. You become an accomplice in the crime when found,” he said.
He said detectives are now pursuing good leads on the issue and they aim to address the menace.
Tens of mobile phone users are usually robbed on the roads by thieves who take the gadgets for repairs before they are sold to unsuspecting buyers.
Sedah encouraged those whose gadgets are stolen to always report the same to the police.
He warned mobile phone thieves operating in the guise of phone dealers and phone repair shop owners that detectives are hot on their trail, equally cautioning genuine operators to be careful while handling second-hand electronics as they may put them in serious problems with the law.