An inter-State gang of thieves involved in stealing trucks was busted and six of its members were arrested by Kaliapani Police on Sunday.
One truck and machinery of the stolen trucks were seized from their possession.
On a tip off, the six were arrested from near Kaliapani area while they were plotting a robbery. They have been identified as Sarbeswar Sahu (22), Susanta Kumar Behura (22), Satyajit Mohanty (23), Shaik Sabir (28), Brahmananda Sahu (42) and Ramesh Chandra Dixit (39).
Police said the gang was involved in lifting over 24 trucks in the last nine months.
They normally targeted the trucks that were lined up near mining areas and when the drivers and helpers were not around.
One of such primary locations was the Sukinda Chromite mining area where trucks are usually parked for days together before ore is loaded to be transported to other areas.
“They took these vehicles to scrap dealers who dismantled them. They then sold it as scrap at the cost of Rs 1 to 1.3 lakh and wooden parts at the rate of Rs 20,000 to `30,000 in West Bengal and Jharkhand,” said Jajpur SP Deepak Kumar.
During interrogation, the six admitted to have stolen 24 trucks from within and outside the State. The SP further said it looked like a bigger gang and investigation is on to trace the other members.