Four Russians held for ATM theft, narcotic crimes

PANAJI: Goa police raided two rented houses at Dandoswada, Mandrem, on Friday and arrested four Russians on charges of dealing in drugs and stealing cash from an ATM. Narcotics worth Rs 7.6 lakh, a car and a motorcycle were seized. Action will also be taken against the landlord as the C-Form, furnishing details of the guests, was not submitted to the police.

All four Russians had arrived Goa in December 2018 on tourist visas. While one was arrested for cultivating cannabis, the other three were held for possession of narcotic substances. The foreigners were also accused of stealing Rs 9 lakh from a Bank of India ATM in Arambol.

‘Cops found Russian cultivating cannabis’

Police are now verifying whether the Russians were involved in any other ATM thefts.

North Goa SP Chandan Choudhary, said all four accused possessed valid travel documents and would frequently change residences as they were aware that they were on the police’s radar.

When a team of Pernem police raided the bungalow at Mandrem on Friday, they found Ilia Alexsandrovich Shtennikov, 30, to be growing cannabis within it. They arrested him and seized cannabis plants weighing 608g, estimated to be worth Rs 65,000.

During interrogation, Shtennikov revealed that some foreigners residing in another house, also in Dandoswada, were involved in a similar trade. During a subsequent search of the residence, police found narcotics worth over Rs 7 lakh. Radik Vafin, 35, was caught with 14g of ecstasy tablets, 4.7g of MDMA and 1kg of ganja, all estimated to be worth Rs 2 lakh. Another Russian, Evgenii Zakharin, 38, was also found to possess 13g of ecstasy tablets, 1.2g of cocaine and 1.2kg of ganja, all worth approximately Rs 2.4 lakh, while Igor Markov, 32, was found with 12g of ecstasy tablets and 1.2kg of ganja together worth Rs 2.3 lakh.

Upon being quizzed by Pernem PI Sandesh Chodankar in the presence of SDPO Serafin Dias, Vafin confessed that he and his three compatriots had broken the ATM at Arambol with a gas cutter. He also said they had attempted to rob several other ATMs.

Vafin subsequently led a police team to Mandrem, from where a car and a motorbike — both used to commit the ATM theft — were seized. Among the items found in the car were a gas cutter, an LPG cylinder, an industrial clipper, a PU foam insulation sealant, a power drill, an iron cutter and a safety fuse.