Nine arrested for theft of gold dust from jewellery unit

SURAT: Crime branch sleuths nabbed nine accused on Tuesday for their alleged involvement in the theft of Rs 1.41 crore worth of gold dust from a jewellery-making unit in an area under the limits of Varachha police station on February 15. Police recovered 785 grams of gold dust worth Rs27.76 lakh of the total 4.4kg stolen along with Rs1.74 lakh cash and two scooters from the accused.
The accused told police that when they made a bar after melting the gold dust, it weighed only 785 grams. "It is a matter of investigation how much gold the dust actually contained,” a police officer said.
"There is possibility of the gold dust containing some waste or other material. The complainant is checking his stock and actual value of the stolen material will be known soon," police said. Those arrested were Lalan Shaikh, 30; Arman alias Babu Mandal, 23; Saqib Shaikh, 21; Rahuluddin Shaikh, 27; Nurhasan Shaikh, 30; Prashantjit Das, 30; Sujay alias Babu Das, 35; Devashish Samanto, 34; and Jafar Husain Shaikh, 27. They were arrested from the city while preparing to escape.
Some of the accused were rounded up within two days of the theft, but cops could not recover the total gold as claimed by the complainant, police sources said, adding that they were also collecting evidences against the accused.
Police found a two-wheeler that was used in the crime while going through CCTV footages. Police questioned a watchman of the area about the scooter and he provided details about its owner, who was then nabbed. Investigation revealed that Devashish Samanto, who worked in Dezzle Jewell in 2015, had provided tip to other accused. He also informed the burglars that the theft has to be carried out at the start of the month. The burglars tried to commit the theft on February 2, but failed. On February 15, only three accused went on a scooter to the locality where the unit was. Saqib and Rahuluddin later entered the unit.
All the accused are gold jewellery-makers and hail from West Bengal. The accused have been handed over to Varachha police station.