Goa: Pernem cops bust interstate burglary racket, arrest two

PANAJI: Pernem police on Thursday busted an interstate burglary racket involving multiple cases of theft that targeted both foreign and Indian tourists in the taluka. Two accused — Lathif Khan, 28, and K S Azeez, 46, both from Karnataka — have been arrested and stolen goods worth Rs 25 lakh recovered.
Police said that there were several cases of house breaking reported at the Pernem police station over the past two months.
The cases were reported from Ashwem, Morjim, Mandrem and Arambol areas wherein unknown accused would rob foreign and Indian tourists of their laptops, iPad, cameras, cellphones, money, etc.
This, police said, had created fear in the minds of tourists and disturbed the peace of these coastal areas.
Pernem police were continuously on the culprits’ tracks, however, the accused used to change their locations, fleeing to Karnataka and Kerala after a robbery.
During the course of the investigation, police received inputs showing that the accused were from Kerala and Karnataka, following which, in an interstate operation conducted with the help of Karnataka and Kerala police, the interstate burglary racket was busted and the accused arrested.
Pernem police recovered 13 laptops of different brands, 15 cellphones of different brands and two tabs and three cameras of different brands, among other articles altogether worth Rs 25 lakh. The accused are in police custody and will be interrogated to find if they are linked to other undetected cases at the Pernem police station and other police stations in Goa and if they have other associates.