Tambaram police have busted a gang that targeted containers going to shipping yards for export and in a unique way stole goods worth several lakhs from those containers.
On 18 August, around 14,400 kg of finished pharmaceutical ingredients, valued at around ₹94 lakh, were loaded into a container truck and shipped to a company, PharmaZell (India) Pvt Ltd in Madras Export Processing Zone (MEPZ), Tambaram. were taken. Ennore port to be shipped to Germany.
Officials found 4,800 kg of cargo missing from the consignment, which was unloaded at the port for customs clearance and reloaded in containers before being shipped.
A representative of the company lodged a complaint with the police. Tambaram Police Commissioner A. On the instructions of Amalraj, two special teams under the leadership of Deputy Commissioner of Police MR Sibi Chakraborty were formed to investigate the theft. It was found that the criminals stole goods worth ` 98 lakh without removing the customs seal by carefully opening the bolts.
Elaborating on the modus operandi of the gang, Mr. Amalraj said, “Our investigation revealed that the seven-member gang colluded with container truck drivers, who were regularly transporting goods from private companies to shipping yards. Were. After paying the drivers, the accused persons ‘hijacked’ trucks laden with export goods for two hours at a private yard in Minjoor, where they unloaded the goods by removing the bolts without removing the seals. Later they locked it and handed it over to the truck driver. They tried to sell the stolen goods at cheap prices.
Police arrested 27-year-old Satish Kumar; Maran alias Ilamaran, 29, of Tiruvarur district; Karthik, 40, from Tiruvottiroor; Muniyaandi, 36, from Tondiarpet; and Gauri Shankar, 32, of Burma Nagar. Search is on for two more people. Goods worth Rs 2.75 crore were recovered from them.
The commissioner said the gang had looted pharmaceutical products worth Rs 1.50 crore from containers transported from MEPZs in the past one month, 3,000 pairs of shoes brought from Ambur, and keyboards worth Rs 50 lakh shipped by a company in Thirupurur. They also stole 1,800 pairs of shoes being exported to Italy from another shoe factory in Ambur last July and 1,000 pairs shipped from a factory in Tada, Andhra Pradesh.
Mr Amalraj said that export firms have been advised to verify the background of drivers who are engaged in carrying container trucks and their conduct. They should also install Global Positioning System (GPS) and continuously monitor the movement of container trucks
In most of the cases, theft was detected when the consignment reached its destination. Police officials said the goods were on their way to several ports and companies were unable to trace where the goods were stolen and faced difficulties in filing complaints.