SURAT: A team of the Prevention of Crime Branch (PCB) busted an illegal diesel distribution network from Gaviyar within the limits of Dumas police station on Tuesday. Police also arrested three persons and seized 2,200 litres of stolen diesel from their possession.
Cops suspect that the accused stole the diesel from a cargo ship and brought it to the city to sell it.
Police arrested Tejas alias Teja Patel, 38, Gajendra alias Kariya alias Kaliya Yadav, 21, and Jitender Rai, 30, after the trio failed to produce papers related to the huge quantity of the fuel. The accused were bringing the diesel in 11 containers in a boat. Police seized the valuables worth Rs 3.73 lakh from the accused near Gaviyar village on Tapi riverbank.
Investigation so far revealed that the accused stole the fuel from cargo ships coming to Hazira or Magdalla. Initially the diesel is stored in containers on islands in the middle of the estuary. Later it is transported in small containers through fishing boats to the riverbank. The diesel is mostly sold to shrimp farms that use diesel water pumps in large numbers.