AHMEDABAD: Police have uncovered a Rs 15 lakh racket in which four businessmen running a hotfix unit allegedly stole fake diamonds from rival factories and reused them on sarees at their own unit in Varachha and Kapodra.
The police uncovered a calculated theft operation in which factory owners themselves allegedly turned thieves. The four businessmen, who operate a hotfix unit for stone-setting on sarees, are accused of targeting rival units, stealing fake diamonds in bulk, and recycling the stolen stones into their own production line to offset business losses.
Police said the accused confessed to stealing stones worth nearly Rs 15 lakh from five factories across Surat over the past six months. The thefts were planned, repeated and executed with insider precision.
The case came to light after a break-in at Stone Materials Shop, a hotfix unit in the Kapodra area. On January 27, miscreants allegedly broke open the factory locks and fled with stones worth Rs 1.95 lakh used for saree embellishment. Earlier, on January 7, a similar theft occurred at Sitara Impact in Thakordwar Society, where stones worth Rs 1.92 lakh were stolen.
“The pattern was too similar to ignore,” said Kapodra police station inspector M B Ausura. “In both cases, the accused arrived in a rickshaw, targeted hotfix units and vanished within minutes. That was our first solid lead.”
Using a rickshaw number traced during the investigation, police arrested Jaysukh Raja Dambheliya, a resident of Geetanagar near Sitanagar Chowkdi. During interrogation, he revealed the names of his associates—Mansingh Pratapsinh Gohil and Teja Natha Chasla, both Surat residents and owners of a hotfix factory.
“The accused admitted they rented rickshaws and sometimes pickup vans specifically for the thefts to avoid suspicion,” an investigating officer said. “They knew exactly what to steal, how much to take and how to move it quickly.”
Investigators were surprised by the motive. All four accused were themselves hotfix businessmen. Facing mounting losses and unable to afford fresh stock of stones, they allegedly decided to steal from other factories instead of purchasing new material.
“They told us their business was running into losses,” the officer said. “Instead of shutting down, they chose crime as a shortcut to survival.”
Police said the gang targeted two societies in Kapodra and three factories in Varachha over six months. The stolen stones were immediately reused, pasted onto sarees brought to their factory for job work and passed off as legitimate production.
In some cases, the accused allegedly sold part of the stolen stock to other manufacturers. To avoid suspicion, they claimed they were shutting down their factory due to losses and were selling leftover material at throwaway prices.
Police have so far arrested three accused and seized key evidence. Further investigation is underway to trace additional buyers of the stolen stones and to determine whether more factories were targeted.
As Surat’s textile industry reels from yet another crime within its own ecosystem, police warn that financial stress is increasingly pushing traders towards organised theft, turning competition into crime, and glitter into guilt.