Two arrested for stealing medicines from delivery executives

Two people have been arrested for allegedly following wholesale medicine delivery executives from the Dawa Bazaar in Kalbadevi and stealing entire consignments at the first available opportunity

Mumbai Two people have been arrested for allegedly following wholesale medicine delivery executives from the Dawa Bazaar in Kalbadevi and stealing entire consignments at the first available opportunity.

The carton was one of the many products that the boy had on him and as soon as he stepped inside a shop to deliver the first consignment, the duo stole the carton from the carrier of his bicycle. (HT Photo)

The Trombay police had started a probe against the duo after a carton of 990 cigarettes, worth ₹78,000, was stolen on the Sion-Panvel highway on August 25. The carton was one of the many products that the boy had on him and as soon as he stepped inside a shop to deliver the first consignment, the duo stole the carton from the carrier of his bicycle.

“We scanned footage from around 90 Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras covering the scene of the crime as well as nearby areas, and tracked the duo all the way from Trombay to Agripada. We also circulated stills of the duo among WhatsApp groups of officers from other police stations. This helped us identify the accused,” said police sub-inspector Sharad Nanekar, Trombay police station.

Based on this investigation, the police arrested Roshan Chauhan from Agripada on August 26. Following his interrogation, the police arrested the second accused, Sultan Sheikh, on September 4. The police then started interrogating them about their antecedents, which blew the lid off their well-planned and organised racket.

“The duo specialised in stealing medicines, knowing that they fetch a high price on the black market, with other products like cigarettes being secondary targets. They always went after wholesale consignments being delivered on bicycles, which made for easy targets due to the complete lack of security. They would keep a watch on roads leading out of the Dawa Bazaar, pick a delivery executive and follow him till they were well acquainted with his route. After a few days of reconnaissance, they would steal the consignment as soon as he went in to make his first delivery for the day. They would then immediately hail a taxi and flee the scene,” Nanekar said.

The police have also learnt that, just like chain snatchers have fixed jewellers who buy stolen jewellery, Chauhan and Sheikh were dealing with a select few medical stores.

The accused, who have been charged with theft under the Indian Penal Code, have 21 such cases registered against them at Agripada, N M Joshi Marg, Sion and Navghar police stations, officers said.