Delhi: Gang of aviation fuel thieves busted, 8 held
Delhi Police have busted a massive smuggling racket involving aviation turbine fuel (ATF), arresting six men and detaining two others for allegedly siphoning off thousands of litres of the highly regulated and expensive fuel meant for aircraft, and selling it in the black market across Delhi-NCR, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and other states. (Representative image) In total, over 72,000 litres of stolen aviation turbine fuel were recovered from the raids. (REUTERS)
ATF, a highly flammable aviation-grade fuel, is strictly regulated and primarily used by airlines, making its theft a serious threat to both safety and the economy. Police said the racket caused an estimated loss of ₹ 1.62 crore per month to the national exchequer.
A raid was conducted on Sunday at a godown in Delhi's Mundka village following months of surveillance and a tip-off by a team led by inspector Mahipal Singh, police said.
'Three oil tankers with 24,000 litres of fuel each were found siphoning ATF into barrels. Two pickup trucks for further transportation, forged dip rods, duplicate keys, filled barrels, and ₹ 1.05 lakh in cash were seized,' said deputy commissioner of police (crime) Aditya Gautam.
In total, over 72,000 litres of stolen ATF were recovered.
The accused were reportedly operating the racket for at least three years, diverting ATF en route from HPCL's Asoda Depot in Bahadurgarh to the Indira Gandhi International Airport, according to officials familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified.
'The drivers were working in collusion with transporters and the Mundka godown operator. They manipulated the GPS tracking system and would divert the tankers to Mundka' said DCP Gautam.
The investigation headed by ACP Ramesh Lamba found that the tanker locks—secured with keys exclusive to the destination depot— were bypassed using duplicate keys.
'Over time, they had gained access to keys and made a duplicate. They also forged dip rods to simulate legitimate delivery measurements. The siphoned ATF was then sold in the open market under the guise of mineral turpentine oil (MTO)—commonly used in the ink and paint industry.' said an investigator.
The investigator added that the fuel from tankers was taken into barrels which were kept in trucks. The investigator said, 'These trucks were then taken to Rewari, Sonipat in Haryana, in Uttar Pradesh's Hardoi and in other places such as Gwalior and Maharashtra to sell off to paint industries.'
The DCP said the investigation revealed that the accused stole more than 5,000 litres of ATF daily for three years. 'This resulted in the theft of nearly 150,000 litres a month. We found genuine and forged dip rods, drums, master keys and duplicate keys, tanker locks etc,' he added.
Those arrested include Gaya Prasad Yadav (43), the godown owner and alleged mastermind, who sold ATF at ₹ 50 per litre. His associate, Rajkumar Choudhary, acted as the key buyer, sourcing the fuel at ₹ 43–50 per litre and reselling it to paint and ink manufacturers.
Ashpal Singh Bhullar, owner of the tankers, was also arrested along with three of his drivers—Ram Bharose, Anjay Roy and Subodh Kumar Yadav—who were paid ₹ 700–800 per trip. Two helpers have been detained.
The seized ATF and tankers were handed over to HPCL for safekeeping after proper documentation, police said.
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