Bhavnagar police on Thursday arrested two persons for allegedly stealing material from a vessel arriving at Alang ship recycling yard.
The vessel D V Erica was anchored in mid-sea when the accused — Vikram Gohil (33) and Jagdish Mer (20) — allegedly stole electrical wires, devices and copper pipes worth Rs 40 lakh from it.
Gohil and Mer were arrested after ship recycler Mukesh Sharma filed a theft complaint with the Alang Marine police station on March 24.
Sharma alleged that goods worth Rs 40 lakh were stolen from the vessel he had bought for dismantling. According to the complaint, the goods were stolen when the dead container vessel was being towed by a tug boat between Diu and Ghogha.
Between Talaja and Bhavnagar, a gang of robbers in the boat boarded the vessel and allegedly stole valuables like electrical goods, electronic devices and copper pipes.
After Sharma filed a complaint, the police formed various teams of the local crime branch and gathered information on people who were previously involved in similar theft. The search narrowed down to the accused who were nabbed on Thursday.
Police said that the accused duo was involved in similar thefts from dead vessels in the past, which they confessed during interrogation. The police recovered the stolen material worth Rs 5 lakh from the accused.
Police added that the accused will be produced in court for remand as their custody was required to know about others involved and where they sold the stolen materials.
