The police have arrested three persons, including Dinakaran, a close associate of notorious burglar Thiruporur Murugan, in connection with robberies in the city. Dinakaran and Murugan used walkie-talkies to be in touch with each other while looting houses.
Following a series of burglaries in Anna Nagar, Tirumangalam, Nolambur and Mogappair, a team was formed.
Four months ago, the team nabbed a few gang members. They were identified as Karaikal Manikandan, Dindigul Gopal, Puducherry Raghuraman and Murthy. Gold, silver and a car were seized from them.
It was found that they were close associates of inter-State burglars Dinakaran, 31, of Narayur, Pavur Chatiram in Tirunelveli and Thiruvarur Murugan, 35.
On Thursday, the special team nabbed Dinakaran from his home town. “Two brokers Loganathan, 52, and Kaildas, 34, were also arrested. The two used to melt the stolen gold and silver articles and sell them. They used to hand over the money to Murugan and Dinakaran after taking their commission,” said a police officer.
The police also recovered 3 kg gold, 5 kg silver, a car, 1,000 euro currencies, two walkie-talkies, a crow bar and ropes. “Murugan and Dinakaran used to do a recce of the locality. They placed a bunch of pamphlets on the door of locked houses. In the evening if the papers were intact, they broke into the house,” said an officer. The two never used mobile phones. “They used walkie-talkies. While one person used to stand outside and kept watch, the other stole valuables,” added the officer.
The police have intensified their hunt for Murugan. Murugan and Dinakaran were arrested by the Cyberabad Police in Telangana and the Bengaluru police for automobile thefts and a temple theft in 2015. In 2008, Murugan reportedly teamed up with Dinakaran to rob houses in Bengaluru and Hyderabad. The gang was on a looting spree to produce a movie, the police said.