A notorious shoplifting gang with its base in Mumbai, specializing in stealing expensive shaving cartridges from supermarkets across the state, has finally been apprehended by the police.
The three arrested culprits, identified as Maneesh Makyjaan (23), Mehboob Mahmood Shaikh (24), and Ayaan Moideen (26), all hailing from Kalyan, Mumbai, were the masterminds behind the targeted thefts.
Their criminal activities involved looting shaving cartridges from various supermarkets during their visits to Kerala, where they managed to steal merchandise worth Rs 3 to 5 lakh on each occasion. After their heists, they would transport the hundreds of stolen cartridges back to Mumbai.
The breakthrough in catching the gang came when Ernakulam ACP Rajkumar and his police squad, in collaboration with local authorities, apprehended the trio in Kozhikode while investigating a similar theft that occurred at Maradu supermarket.
Earlier, the police had issued warnings about the existence of such a gang, but the culprits were elusive. During a previous encounter, the gang managed to escape after attacking the security staff at a supermarket in Edappally.
Describing their modus operandi, a senior police official revealed that the gang would cleverly conceal the stolen cartridges within their clothes while smuggling them out of the supermarkets. Each cartridge was valued at Rs 500 to Rs 1000.
The investigation team, comprising members of the Crime Squad and Maradu Police, utilized advanced technology, including AI cameras. By uploading CCTV images of the suspects to an AI server and analyzing similar images from different districts, they successfully tracked down the gang members.
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