NEW DELHI: The City Task Force arrested seven persons on Friday for allegedly smuggling petroleum products such as petrol and high speed diesel from the tanker ships berthed at the LPG berth in the port area.
The operation undertaken by the smugglers had not only taken the police by surprise but what comes to the fore is the security lapse at a vital installation like the LPG berth. The LPG berth and other vital installations like HPCL, Visakhapatnam Port Trust and IOCL facility are directly under the control of Central Industrial Security Force.
Apart from the seven arrested, the entire smuggling operation was being organised in collusion with a few CISF personnel and private surveyors, who were engaged by the shipping companies for survey, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone- I) Dr. Trivikram Varma said.
The main accused Sykam Prasad, who was earlier involved in a dacoity case in the city and a murder case in Ongole, had been in the smuggling activity since last 10 years.
Earlier, he was involved in petty smuggling activity, but since 2013, he and his gang moved to smuggling oil from the ships.
On receiving a call from the CISF personnel or the surveyors, the gang would take the boats from the fishing harbour and park alongside the tanker ship at the jetty. The smugglers pilfer the fuel by using one of the valves in the pipeline, said Dr. Trivikram Varma.
The pressure would be so high that in minutes the tanks would be full and they would leave. The pilfered oil was sold to the fishermen in the high seas. Even if they sell a litre at Rs. 40, they made about Rs. 12 lakh per consignment. And after paying a kickback to the CISF personnel and the surveyors they would have made a neat Rs. 8 lakh per trip, said the DCP.
