The city police on Tuesday arrested six members of an inter-State gang of dacoits and seized cigarettes worth Rs. 3.28 crore from them.
The accused have been identified as Allah Shah (42), Dastagir Shah (32), Radhakrishna (32), Satish (25), Mohd Arshad (19) and Sunil (30), all natives of Karnataka.
Addressing press persons here on Tuesday, DCP (Central) V.B. Kamalasan Reddy said the kingpin Dastagir Shah worked at different transport companies and planned to rob containers carrying different materials on highways. He roped in his brother Allah Shah for the job along with the other accused persons.
Allah Shah gave Rs. 2 lakh and asked the gang members to keep a watch on the movement of consignments on national highways. The gang members selected a container carrying consignment of 416 cartons of cigarettes worth Rs. 3.28 crore belonging to ITC Limited in Sholapur district of Maharashtra State.
“The accused persons hijacked the truck at Indapur in Maharashtra and overpowering the driver took it to Humnabad and unloaded the consignment in a DCM lorry. They later tied the hand and legs of the driver and abandoned the truck,” Mr. Reddy said.
The gang then brought the consignment to Hyderabad and were in search of a buyer when they were caught by the Commissioner’s Task Force (west) team and Chikkadpally police.
