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Gang flees with black gold in Hollywood-style heist in Panvel
In a dramatic heist, 35 armed men stole 40 tonnes of black pepper and betel nut from a Panvel warehouse, marking the third theft since 2022.
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NAVI MUMBAI: It wasn’t a Hollywood film set but a real-life heist pulled off by 35 armed men who made off with 40 tonnes of, not gold, but black gold, from a warehouse in Panvel, in the early hours of Tuesday. The dramatic robbery took place at a Customs warehouse in Shirodhan, in Panvel, where a confiscated consignment had been stored since 2022 for failure to pay Customs duty.
According to the First Information report (FIR) registered with the Panvel City police by the Nhava Sheva Customs superintendent Raman Himmat Kaushik, the theft took place at 2.30 am. Police said a trailer and four tempos had arrived at the warehouse in the dead of night, and 30 to 35 men got out. Three of them are said to have manhandled the security staff and held them at knife point, while the padlock on the warehouse shutters was broken using mechanised cutters. The thieves took two hours to load their booty into their tempos and trailer, and left with 40 tonnes of black pepper and betel nut worth ₹5 crore.
A case has been registered under Section 311 of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), for robbery or dacoity with attempt to cause death or grievous harm. The FIR states that the theft was discovered when warehouse staff found the shutters broken. Security personnel described the heist in their statements to the police.
Incredibly, this is the third theft from the same warehouse, according to the FIR. The first robbery took place in 2022, when 212 tonnes of goods were stolen. The second theft occurred the following year, and an FIR under Sections 454 (house-breaking theft), 457 (trespass), 380 (theft in buildings), 12 –B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code had been registered.
