KOCHI: Thieves fly in and fly out after burglary these days, in perhaps a worrying trend that may have escaped the attention of Kerala Police so far. The police on Monday stopped a three-member gang which arrived in Kochi from New Delhi on a flight on April 21 and carried out six thefts in various houses in four days. With an airline company confirming that one of the accused flew in to Kochi on February 9, police suspect there could have been similar robberies in the past too.
In the latest case, the thefts happened in Kadavanthra, Palarivattom, Elamakkara and Ernakulam North police-station limits from April 21 to Sunday. Police said a three-member team — natives of New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand — burgled two houses the day they landed at Kochi airport, dressed in proper business attire.
The arrested persons are Mintu Vishwas, 47, of Rudrapur district in Uttarakhand and currently living at JJ Colony, New Delhi; Harichandra, 33, of Amroha district in Uttar Pradesh and now residing at Samaypur, New Delhi; and Chandrabhan, 38, of Amrawati in Uttar Pradesh. Kochi Deputy Commissioner of Police V U Kuriakose said the police personnel from different stations were mobilised and special squads formed resulting in the arrest of the trio.
20 sovereigns of gold & more found
Gold ornaments worth Rs 8 lakh were stolen. The same day, they broke into a house at Kirthi Nagar in Elamakkara and stole three sovereigns of gold ornaments and Rs 8,500 in cash. The next day, they broke into a house at Manimala Cross Road from where a Rolex watch worth Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 35,000 were stolen. From a house in Ernakulam North, US dollar bills were stolen. Other two thefts were reported at Palarivattom and Kadavanthra. “In total, 20 sovereigns of gold ornaments, Rs 70,000, $411, two wristwatches and four mobile phones were recovered. A scooter was also impounded, about which more investigation is required,” Kuriakose said.
The gang broke into the houses during daytime. They roamed the streets and checked for big houses locked from outside. “They checked whether the gate or the door was locked from outside. They would break the door lock using a long screwdriver. In most cases, houses of people who had gone for work were targeted,” he said.
According to Ernakulam Central Assistant Commissioner of Police Jayakumar Chandramohan, they got the breakthrough while checking the footage from a CCTV camera installed in the house next to the one which was burgled at Kirthi Nagar. The three were spotted roaming near the house.
“We prepared sketches of the suspects and circulated them to all police stations in the city. During the probe, a lodge owner told us that similar persons had stayed at his lodge. However, by the time our team reached, they had left the lodge. Later, we received information that they were staying at another lodge in Ernakulam North area. We deployed our units near the lodge. The gang members were intercepted when they were entering a restaurant for having food,” he said.