Warangal: Inter-state gang of robbers nabbed, stolen goods worth Rs.2 Cr seized

On Wednesday, the Central Crime Station (CCS), Matwada, Subedari, and Hanamkonda police, aided by the Kurnool police, successfully apprehended four members of an inter-state gang of thieves hailing from Ghaziabad and Meerut.

Warangal: Four members of an inter-state gang of thieves from Ghaziabad and Meerut in Uttar Pradesh were arrested in a operation involving the Central Crime Station (CCS), Matwada, Subedari and Hanamkonda police with the help of the Kurnool police on Wednesday.

The police seized 2.380 kg of gold and diamond jewellery valued at approximately Rs 2 crore, along with 104 kg of ganja worth Rs.5.20 lakh, one pistol, five rounds of ammunition, a vehicle, two walkie-talkies, four counterfeit Aadhar cards, and Rs.5,000 from the gang. During a vehicle inspection at Telangana Junction under the Subedari PS in Hanamkonda on Wednesday, the police spotted a car in a suspicious manner and apprehended the occupants who were identified as Akbar Qureshi (34), Kapil Jatovu (30), Mohammed Sharif (56) and MD Jadh Khan (25).

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Warangal Police Commissioner AV Ranganath said the gang was behind 46 thefts and robberies across various parts of the country including a string of burglaries in locked apartments on September 5 in the Matwada, Hanamkonda and Subedari police station limits.

Special teams led by DCP (Crimes) Dasari Muralidhar were constituted and inquiries revealed that preceding the thefts in Warangal, similar incidents occurred in Adilabad and Bengaluru. The police collected CCTV footage and images of the vehicle used by the suspects.

Further investigation unveiled similar thefts in Kurnool with the accused subsequently arrested and sent to jail in June this year.

“On the third of this month, the gang departed from Delhi in a vehicle, and targeted two apartments in Adilabad district the next day, stealing cash, gold, and silver jewellery. Subsequently, on September 5, they conducted a spree of break-ins, four in Hanamkonda police station limits and two each in Matwada and Subedari police station limits. During an attempted theft at Vadiraju’s apartment under Matwada police station, an alert security guard confronted the gang, prompting them to brandish a pistol to intimidate the guard,” Ranganath said.

After the thefts in the Warangal Police limits, the gang carried out four more thefts in Bengaluru before returning to Hyderabad and concealing the stolen goods. They also purchased ganja from Mulugu to sell in Delhi, he added.