Mumbai police's crime branch busted an oil theft racket on Tuesday and arrested three drivers for allegedly helping a gang in pilfering the furnace oil from BPCL tankers during their transportation from Uran in Navi Mumbai to Mahul in Chembur, an official said.
Acting on a tip-off, crime branch officials conducted a surprise check on three sealed tankers which were parked outside the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited's refinery in Mahul in east Mumbai for unloading the furnace oil.
During the check, which was conducted in the presence of BPCL officers to assess the quality of the oil, the officials found water in one of the five compartments, he said.
The sleuths found around 14,800 litres of the adulterated oil, worth Rs 5.18 lakh, he added.
Further investigation revealed that a gang was involved in stealing the furnace oil.
As per the protocol, after filling the oil from BPCL tanks near Uran, the tankers unload it at Mahul refinery, around 48 kms away.
While transporting the oil, the accused, in connivance with the tanker drivers, would lift thousands of litres of oil by parking these tankers at an isolated place, the official said.
The accused would then mix water in the remaining oil in the tankers, he added.
The arrested drivers have been identified as Sufu Nafis Khan, Raju Kailash Saroj and Yaqub Mohammed Siddhiqui, he said. The police are on the lookout for the leader of the racket, Akram Siddhiqui, and his aides.
A senior police official said Akram and his syndicate was also active in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.
The arrested trio were produced in a local court on Tuesday which remanded them in police custody till September 21, he said.
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