Nagpur: A crime branch squad busted a gang, which included a former murder accused, and recovered 18 tonne of stolen betel nuts worth more than Rs 17.33 lakh from two traders in the city this week.
The traders, Satish Kesharwani and Rahul Bawankule, who too have been charged in the case, had purchased the stolen betele nut stock, which had actually been seized by officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) for tax evasion.
The six persons arrested in the case have been identified as Shaikh Ramzan Shaikh Jameel, Kuldeep Ganvir alias Pyjama, Rajesh Katane, Suryakant Pise alias Jagdish, Anil Sahu and Jeetendra Kurre, who were nabbed from a place near Chikli railway crossing in the early hours of Monday.
They were first arrested for preparation of dacoity, after cops discovered sharp weapons in their possession. Jagdish has a murder charge against him in the past while there are two cases of thefts against Ganvir.
Katane too was earlier booked for vehicle theft. Crime branch also recovered two vehicles worth another Rs 6 lakh from the gang.
The gang, during interrogation, spilled the beans regarding their involvement in a series of thefts of beetlenuts from the godown of Ankit Goyal near Umri Phata on NH 6.
