Berhampur: In a novel plan, a dacoit managed to mortgage stolen gold to secure loans worth Rs 21 lakh in Ganjam district.
The plot was revealed after Berhampur police launched an investigation into a series of burglaries of gold ornaments in the city.
After a month-long operation, two dacoits were arrested and 540 grams of gold ornaments worth ₹25 lakh was seized from them. The accused confessed to their involvement in no less than 15 burglaries.
“One of the dacoits was found to have opened an account with gold loan lending company. Over a period of time, he deposited stolen gold with the company to secure ₹21 lakh as loans,” Berhampur SP Pinak Mishra was quoted as saying by The Hindu.
“Customers pledge their gold ornaments as a collateral deposit to secure a loan. It is up to the loan providing companies to find out the source of gold being mortgaged. We have decided to expand the purview of our investigation to see if these companies have become a point for converting ill-gotten gold into loans,” the SP added.
Mishra informed that the two dacoits have confessed to investigators that they learnt of melting stolen ornaments into gold ingots from YouTube.
