KOCHI: In a swift and dramatic operation, police on Friday arrested two inter-state criminals who arrived from New Delhi and carried out a series of chain snatching incidents between Companypady and Nedumbassery on a stolen motorcycle. The arrested individuals have been identified as Arif, 34, from Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh, and Faisal, 28, from Shastri Vihar, New Delhi.
The police said the duo reached Aluva railway station early on Friday morning and stole a motorcycle parked in the vicinity. Around 8.10am, they committed their first chain snatching near the Companypady bus stop. They then moved toward Chengamanad, where they executed two more snatching incidents in Palaprasery and Mekkad before reaching Nedumbassery, where they snatched another gold chain and attempted a fifth theft.
“They had learned about the heavy rain in Kochi and planned to exploit the weather to their advantage. Their intention was to carry out as many thefts as possible in a single day and return to Delhi soon,” said a police officer.
District Police Chief M Hemalatha formed a special task force, and the entire police network, including teams from Aluva, Chengamanad and Nedumbassery, was mobilised. Several CCTV cameras were scrutinised, border checks were set up, and intensive searches were launched through side roads and suspected escape routes.
“The turning point came when the suspects, on their way back to Aluva, were located near Thottakkattukara. The police executed a roadblock and successfully intercepted the duo following a brief vehicle chase. Despite their attempts to flee, officers managed to subdue and apprehend them by 11am,” he said.
From their possession, the police recovered snatched gold chains, rings, a gold-weighing device, pepper spray, and tools used for vehicle theft. Investigators later confirmed that two of the stolen ornaments were imitation gold chains.