MAPUSA
Colvale Police arrested one person for allegedly stealing silencers of four-wheelers in order to extract platinum dust from the catalytic converters installed in the vehicles.
The accused has been identified as Mohammad Parvez Yameen Malik (31) resident of Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.
Police recovered valuables worth Rs 20 lakh which include 122 catalytic converters and 66 kg of dust from four-wheelers in Goa and Maharashtra.
According to Colvale Police, on Sunday night the beat police accosted the accused who was moving on his scooter with a gunny bag containing 20 silencers. When he failed to provide satisfactory answers on how he obtained the silencers, the police booked him under 41 CrPC and brought him to the police station. Further investigation revealed that he was residing at Verna.
Police raided his place at Verna on Monday morning and found more silencers and metal dust stocked in the room.
“The accused has no prior record of any criminal activity. We are now probing whether he was operating alone or there are any more accomplices engaged in the crime,” said Nidhin Valsan, SP North, while addressing the media.
He said the accused was stealing the catalytic converters of four wheeler silencers and further extracting dust from the silencers and selling it to dealers in Pune and Delhi who in turn processed the dust into platinum metal and sold it in the international market at high cost.
He further informed the Police Stations at Panaji and Agacaim received complaints of silencer thefts.
The entire investigation was carried out under the supervision of SP North Nidhin Valsan and Mapusa SDPO Jivba Dalvi. Colvale PI Somnath Mahajik and his police staff were involved in nabbing the accused. Further investigation is on.
