Gujarat: Interstate crude oil theft racket kingpin held

Surat, Jan 5 Surat Police have arrested one Sandeep Gupta, who is considered to be a kingpin in the interstate crude oil theft racket. Surat police picked him up from Kolkata on Monday and handed over to Gujarat Anti Terrorist Squad on Wednesday.

A case under Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organized Crime act (GUJCTOC) has been registered.

Surat Police Commissioner Ajay Tomar told mediapersons that some 20 cases are registered against Sandeep Gupta in Gujarat, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Haryana and Bihar. He has allegedly stolen crude oil worth Rs 300-400 crore from the public sector companies pipeline.

The modus operandi of the accused was, he used to hire a shed or unit in the one to two kilometer vicinity of the crude oil pipeline, he would get the pipeline punctured and steal oil. On an average, he used to steal three to four tankers overnight, the officer said.