YouTube-taught trio gets rich snatching gold chains

Three men had taught themselves the tricks of chain-snatching by watching YouTube videos and CCTV footage beamed on TV news channels and were actually growing rich before getting arrested.

Imran Pasha (31) is a cab driver who took to snatching chains from women's necks to clear a Rs 1.5 lakh loan.

He teamed up with his brother-in-law Afzal Shariff (34), a plumber, and Abdul Shafakhath (22), a car mechanic. The three men taught themselves the nuances of snatching chains.

Police said the trio was involved in 19 chain-snatchings. They recovered 652 grams of gold and other valuables estimated to be Rs 18.2 lakh from the suspects.

They bought a second-hand bike and used it  in chain-snatching by changing the number plate.

The trio had often targeted elderly women. To confuse the police, they limited themselves to two snatchings a week. They pledged or sold the chains to local companies in Ramanagaram and a few pawnbrokers at Nagarathpet area in Bengaluru. Sharing the spoils, the trio had grand plans of investing the ill-gotten money in real estate. Pasha began building his house, while Shariff paid the advance on a residential plot. Shafakhath spent his share on second-hand cars.

Their families felt suspicious about their sudden rise in fortunes and questioned them about it. But the men told them their businesses had become profitable. Police used local intelligence to scoop up one of the men, who spilt the beans during the interrogation. Based on his confession, they grabbed hold of the other two.