In a major breakthrough in highway crimes, police arrested five members of a racket that used to steal trucks laden with expensive goods. The racket was busted late on Thursday night at Uluberia in Howrah.
Acting on a tip-off, the police conducted a raid near a dhaba on National Highway-6 near Khalishani in Uluberia. They arrested five persons – Sheikh Akbar, Bhola Roy, Md Azad, Md Murshid and Md Aafsardar.
All five of them confessed to their involvement in the incident in which a soyabean oil-laden tanker was taken away after beating up the driver. Incidentally, the heist had taken place near Khalishani on January 28. The oil tanker was heading towards Haldia.
On Thursday evening, the police received a tip-off that members of the same racket has made plans to take away another truck either by drugging the driver or by beating him up after somehow stopping the vehicle in a
desolate place.
The police have also recovered the truck that they had stolen. But they had managed to sell off the soyabean oil that was worth a few lakh of rupees.
It may be recalled that when prices of onion and sugar had skyrocketed a few years ago, members of the racket used to drug drivers of trucks laden with such goods. They used to befriend drivers while having food in any roadside dhaba. With the blink of an eyelid, they used to spike the food eaten by drivers and as soon as they fell asleep, the accused used to flee with the loaded truck.
A senior police officer said that they used to target trucks loaded with expensive goods as they get double profit out of it. They sold the goods as well as the truck.