The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Friday arrested a person, alleged to be the kingpin of inter-state crude oil pilferage racket, from Mumbai airport where he had landed from Dubai. He was wanted in two cases in the state, one of them is being probed by the ATS.
Officials said that Gupta, a resident of Gurgaon, Haryana is involved in oil theft since 2006-07 and has been held in as many as 14 cases registered in several states including Rajasthan, Bihar, West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir, among others. He is alleged to have been running a syndicate which would puncture crude oil pipelines and steal. So far, he is alleged to have stolen oil worth over Rs300 crore.
The name of 39-year-old Gupta figured for the first time in Morbi last year, where the Special Operation Group foiled a gang on the information passed on by the ATS. Recently, the ATS busted another gang which was found pilfering oil in Kheda district. In both the cases, Gupta's role was revealed.
"Gupta gang would rent properties, specially close to abandoned factories, near the pipelines for months and years and would steal oil by using a valve and then transfer them into tankers. In many cases, it was found he would use tanker containers to avoid suspicious. There are at least 15 to 20 such containers, worth over Rs 50 lakh to Rs 60 lakh, which have been seized and lying at different police stations," said an ATS official.
Published 22 January 2021, 15:07 IST