Bengaluru: Two men who burgled at least 10 houses in Bengaluru Rural and four other districts in Karnataka in the past six months, and were about to jet off to Bahrain with Rs 11 lakh cash, were caught minutes before boarding the aircraft at Mumbai international airport recently.
Caught inside the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport terminal, the duo — M Mohammed Sadiq alias Kadoor Sadiq, 40, of Yelahanka and Hamza Hammabba Byari alias Hanja, 39, of Bettamakki in Thirthahalli, Shivamogga district — did all they could to save themselves from the cops' clutches. They protested innocence vehemently but Magadi police promptly showed them copies of two different passports each of them had procured using fake documents, police sources said.
The two were produced before a local court in Mumbai, which handed them over to police custody.
The duo had last been arrested in 2018, but they then skipped court hearings and eluded the authorities for six years.
The cash they were carrying was from the sale of the valuables they had stolen during the 10 burglaries. Police have now recovered booty worth over Rs 3.6 crore, including 4kg of gold, three four-wheelers (including a Mercedes Benz and a Mahindra XUV), and one country-made pistol with five rounds of bullets. The recoveries were linked to the 10 burglaries, reported in Ramanagara, Chikkamagaluru, Mysuru, Haveri, and Bengaluru Rural districts.
Previous records show the duo was booked in at least 60 other cases of house-break.
"The duo scrupulously avoided breaking into houses in Bengaluru city as they were aware the city is full of CCTV cameras and they could leave a trail for cops. They selected locked houses on the outskirts, desolate places, and non-crowded areas," an investigating officer said.
Further investigation revealed that the accused had procured two passports each using forged papers. "Sadiq had passports in the names of Mohammed Kareem and Mohammed Arhan Changuli, Hanja had passports in the names Mohammed Shaid Perla and Binayamin," the officer said.
Pistol bought for Rs 75k
Police also discovered the accused had purchased the country-made pistol with live bullets for Rs 75,000 from a person in Ballari in 2019. "We're tracking the person who sold the weapon," a cop said.
Also, police investigation revealed that the accused, using the fake passports, had flown thrice to Bahrain on pleasure trips. "They flew to Bahrain in 2022, 2023, and June this year. Selling the stolen gold, silver, and other valuables, they arranged the money," the cop explained.