Ongole: The Prakasam district police arrested a gang of notorious criminals involved in multiple house burglaries across several districts, illegal red-sanders, and ganja transportation.

Addressing the media at the District Police Office here on Monday, Prakasam district SP AR Damodar explained that the Podili police received a complaint on April 14, about a burglary of 27 sovereigns of gold and about 2 kg of silver ornaments from the house of Beeram Nasar Reddy.

Following an intensive investigation under the supervision of Darsi DSP B Lashminarayana, the investigation team, comprising SIs from various police stations, led by Podili Circle Inspector T Venkateswarlu, analysed the CCTV footage to identify the suspects and track their movements.

The SP said that the breakthrough came when the suspects were spotted traveling from Visakhapatnam via Darsi towards Podili in their vehicle on May 4. The Podili CI and his team tried to stop the vehicle at SVKP College, but the accused tried to flee, lost control of the vehicle, and rammed into a tree.

The SP said that the Podili police apprehended a three-member gang on Darsi Road in Podili town on Sunday. He said that the arrested individuals have been identified as Cheemparthi Fakruddin, Cheeparthi Mahaboob Peera, and Gandlu Latheef Basha, all residents of YSR Kadapa district.

He said that the police recovered stolen property worth approximately Rs 85 lakh, including 924.33 grams of gold ornaments valued at Rs 81 lakh and 3.8 kilograms of silver items worth Rs 4.2 lakh.

Additionally, about 6.19 kilograms of ganja and a white Tata Manza car bearing the registration number AP 09 CD 0246 were seized from their possession.

SP Damodar announced that subsequent interrogation revealed their involvement in 16 theft cases spread across five districts, the Prakasam, Nellore, YSR Kadapa, Anantapur, and Annamayya districts. He said that the main accused, Cheemparthi Fakruddin, has an extensive criminal history with 21 prior theft cases and 74 cases related to red sandalwood smuggling.

He was released from jail on January 30, after serving time under the PD Act. Gandlu Latheef Basha has been involved in 8 cases of red sandalwood smuggling, while Simpathi Mahaboob Peera had no prior criminal record before the current spree of 16 theft cases. SP Damodhar commended the efforts of the investigation team, including Darsi DSP B Lakshminarayana, Podili CI T Venkateswarlu, Podili SI V Vemana, and Konakanamitla SI T Raj Kumar for their commitment and vigilance in solving the case.