PANAJI: In their investigations into a six-month spate of burglaries committed by masked men, Goa police have bared two criminals.
Police have nabbed a 44-year-old coconut plucker, Maria Santana Baptista of Benaulim; and a 20-year-old student, Mohammed Sufiyan of Calconda.
Baptista spent much of the proceeds of crime at casinos, while Sufiyan used the money to live an extravagant life.
They are accused of burgling 19 houses and stealing over 500g of gold.
Last week, Porvorim police arrested the two in connection with a theft case. Porvorim police were investigating three theft cases reported from May to Sep, in which thieves targeted houses with sliding doors or windows.
Probe finds burglars chose flight over fight
The arrests led to the solving of 19 theft cases registered at various police stations including Panaji, Agasaim, Mapusa, Anjuna, Ponda, and Old Goa.
Police said that earlier, Baptista was arrested in connection with 14 home burglary cases. He then ended his life in crime and began selling tender coconuts. Police said Baptista resumed his criminal career in Feb.
The burglars grabbed gold and cash, and steered clear of even expensive mobile phones, mindful of police’s device-tracking capabilities.
North Goa SP Akshat Kaushal said that the modus operandi of the accused was to identify houses with sliding doors to gain easy entry.
If any occupant of a house awoke during a break-in, the burglars chose flight over fight to minimise chances of capture, police said. To ensure they left no evidence, the burglars wore gloves and socks, investigations have revealed.
Kaushal said, “The accused used to hand over the stolen gold ornaments to Filip Rato, a resident of Benaulim, who sold them to Samar Pal, who has a jewellery workshop in Margao. Rato and Pal were traced and arrested by Porvorim police.” The SP said around 500g of stolen gold jewellery was recovered.
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