Gang steals 2,500 shoes from container in Tiruvallur, held

CHENNAI: Police arrested three persons who broke open the door of a container truck without tampering the seal and allegedly stole sneakers worth several lakh near Vellavedu in Tiruvallur.

The arrested persons were identified as Sheik Abdullah (46) of Tondiarpet, Ilamaran (42) of Tiruvallur, and Dhanasekar (36) of Nazarathpet. Dhanasekar runs a scrap yard off the Outer Ring Road (ORR), police said.

Sources said the container had shoes and sneakers of an international brand manufactured at a village in Tiruvannamalai. The gang managed to steal about 250 bundles, each containing 10 pairs.

The booty was hidden at Dhanasekar’s scrapyard, while the other two accused scouted for buyers. While the container was boarded and the shipment is off to Europe, Poonamallee police received a tip off about the stolen consignment and conducted a surprise check and recovered the shoes.

The accused were handed over to the Vellavedu police station, who produced them before a magistrate and remanded them in judicial custody. Search is on for their accomplices.