Trader gets ceramic tiles in sealed laptop boxes, 6 held

NEW DELHI: Six members of a gang were arrested for stealing high-end laptops and selling them in Gaffar Market, Palika, Nehru Place and Lajpat Nagar. Police came to know of the thefts when a company received ceramic tiles in sealed boxes in the place of laptops. The tiles were affixed into metal frames to give them the weight and look of laptops. Police have recovered 28 laptops out of the 45 that the gang has confessed to have stolen in various thefts.
The accused have been identified as Aadesh Kumar (25), Shailender Kumar (22), Subodh Rai (34), Mithun Kumar (22), Sanoj Kumar (22) and Jayesh Patel.DCP (southeast) Romil Baaniya said, “On December 18, a case was registered at Okhla Industrial Area police station on the complaint of Sandeep Sharma, the manager of a cargo company. The complaint mentioned that on December 5 a consignment of 140 laptops was loaded in their vehicle from their warehouse in Okhla to be delivered at a warehouse in Gurgaon. After the shipment was checked on arrival, it was found that 38 laptops and their chargers had been replaced with tiles affixed in an iron cabinet.”
A police team led by ACP Kalkaji Amit Goel found that insiders from the cargo company were involved in the theft. “After checking the documents and movement of the truck that delivered the goods, the suspicion fell on the driver, Aadesh Kumar. He confessed to the crime and gave information about four of his accomplices who have been arrested,” Baaniya said.
Probe revealed that Jayesh Patel, who had come to Delhi from Mumbai a few days ago, had hatched the plan to steal the laptops with this modus operandi.
“Mithun and Shailender loaded the cargo in Aadesh Kumar’s truck. Mithun then put a fake seal on the truck container’s door. After exiting the warehouse, Aadesh parked the vehicle on a deserted stretch and unlocked the container. The thieves then took the laptops and packed tiles in the boxes. The consignment was then delivered. Patel took 10 laptops with him and left for Mumbai the next day. A team was sent to Mumbai and he was arrested,” the DCP said.