Representative image showing coffee beans
Credit: iStock Photo
Mangaluru: The Puttur Town Police have arrested five persons in connection with the theft of 80 gunny bags each weighing 60 kg of coffee beans worth Rs 21 lakh from a stationed lorry.
According to the police, the arrested are Ashlesha Bhat and his associates Narayana Shettigar, Mithun Kumar, Vijaya Shetty, and Mahammad Ashraf. Police have also recovered two autorickshaws, one goods tempo, and all 80 stolen coffee bags.
In a complaint to police, Trutesh (29), a resident of Kabaka village and the owner-cum-driver of lorry, had said that he has been transporting coffee beans for nearly two years. On December 2, he received a booking from Bhavani Shipping Service Agency in Panambur to transport coffee beans from Piriyapatna to the Mangaluru port.
The theft came to light after the driver discovered that the vehicle’s rear seal had been broken and several sacks were missing upon reaching Mangaluru port.
The complainant had said that on December 3, he reached Highrange Coffee Curing House in Piriyapatna, where 320 gunny bags, each weighing 60 kg, were loaded onto the lorry. While returning towards Mangaluru, he parked the vehicle at Nehru Nagar in Kabaka, locked it and went home. The next morning, he resumed his journey and reached Mangaluru port. During the quality check, staff noticed the rear seal broken. Upon inspection, 80 bags of coffee beans were missing. Accordingly, Puttur Town Police registered a case under Section 303(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Further investigation is in progress, said the police.