A thief allegedly made off with manhole lids from the footpath outside a residential society in Nadiyadwala Colony, Malad West on Monday. The society’s secretary registered a complaint at the Malad police station on Tuesday. Under the guidance of Senior Inspector Ravindra Adhane, PSI Shivaji Shinde, and his detection team initiated an investigation that led to the arrest of the suspect in Nalasopara on Wednesday.

“We examined CCTV footage from the nearby area, successfully identifying the accused. The Malad police detection team, including Mandar Gonjari, Samadhan Wagh, Dalit Paigrao, Sachin Gaikwad, Ramm Mahadik, and John Fernandiz, tracked down the suspect in Nalasopara, set a trap, and apprehended him,” said an officer.

“The arrested individual has been identified as Jabir Ali Sabir Ali Sayed, 30. He has a history of 16 sewerage manhole lid theft cases registered against him in various police stations in the city, including Bandra, Goregaon, Dahisar, Nalasopara, Santacruz, Vakola, and others. He had previously been arrested by the Santacruz police but was released on bail before committing the recent crime in the Malad area.

Jabir Ali is a drug addict and resorts to theft to finance his drug addiction. His continuous criminal activities have frustrated his family, which includes his mother, brother, and sister. Stealing drain lids is a relatively straightforward task, especially under the cover of night when people are less vigilant. To satisfy his drug cravings, he sells the stolen lids to scrap buyers who roam the area with handcarts.

“The accused displays cunning behaviour by intentionally engaging in minor thefts, enabling them to face minimal penalties. When they appear in court, the offences are often perceived as minor, resulting in their release on personal bond or bail. However, we have now brought the accused’s prior criminal record to the court’s attention, seeking the imposition of the most severe punishment possible,” said another officer.

mid-day had previously unearthed a syndicate of scrap dealers that is the mastermind behind this illicit operation. These scrap dealers sell the stolen manhole covers to larger dealers in Gujarat. The officials think there is a large syndicate at play, indicating a more intricate operation than initially perceived.

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No of prior cases against Jabir

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