Two held for stealing copper worth Rs 1.81 cr

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Two kingpins of a gang were arrested by Mumbai Police in a Rs 1.81 crore copper theft case registered in neighbouring Palghar district, an official said Tuesday.

The accused duo are identified as Wasim Ahmed Bashir Ahmed Sheikh (39) and Mohsin Ashraf Baloch (31), both residents of Nallasopara in Palghar district.

They were arrested by the property cell of the Crime Branch, said Dilip Sawant, DCP (Detection).

Sheikh was wanted in a vehicle theft case in which his two aides were already arrested, he said.

Police had seized nine vehicles from the accused persons which were used to commit robbery and decoity on the highway in Thane and Palghar districts, he said.

Sheikh, who hails from Pratapgadh in Uttar Pradesh, is the kingpin of the gang involved in theft of vehicles in the northern state, the DCP said.

He was wanted in at least 13 such cases in Mumbai.

Sheikh and Baloch were operating a gang that was involved in stealing copper owned by Copper India Ltd., after it was loaded on container trailers in Taloja unit in Navi Mumbai for transporting it to Rajasthan and Gujarat, the official said.

Sheikh and Baloch, along with their accomplices, used to steal copper in remote areas in Palghar and Thane districts and sell it in open market, he said.

The crime branch officials recovered copper worth Rs 1.81 crore in two cases registered at Valiv and Virar police stations in Palghar, he said.

Further investigation is underway.