10 hours ago
Delhi Police bust major ATF smuggling racket, seize 72,000 litres of siphoned Aviation Turbine Fuel
The Delhi Police Sunday busted a racket involved in the smuggling and sale of Aviation Turbine Fuel in the black market, and said they seized 72,000 litres of siphoned ATF worth Rs 1.62 crore from a concealed godown in Outer Delhi's Mundka area as part of their raid.
The operation by the Inter-State Cell (ISC) of the Delhi Police Crime Branch led to the arrest of six men. The key accused has been identified as Gaya Prasad Yadav, 43, the godown owner and the alleged mastermind of the racket, who is a former tanker driver. He used to allegedly buy the stolen ATF at Rs 30 per litre and sell it at Rs 50. Another accused, Rajkumar Chaudhary, 53, was a major ATF purchaser, reselling the fuel in the open market at a profit.
The other arrested individuals include Ashpal Singh Bhullar, 53, a transporter operating multiple trucks, including the three seized; drivers Ram Bharose Yadav, 44, Anjay Roy, 41, and Subodh Kumar Yadav, 32. Two helpers of the drivers, both named Parveen Kumar Yadav, aged 25 and 19, have been asked not to leave the city.
The breakthrough came after sustained surveillance and intelligence inputs gathered by the ISC team led by Inspector Mahipal Singh and supervised by Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Ramesh Chander Lamba. Based on a tip-off received by Head Constable Sunil, the team conducted a targeted raid at a nondescript godown in Mundka, the police said.
According to the police, three oil tankers, each carrying 24,000 litres of ATF, were seized during the raid. Two pickup trucks, forged dip rods used to fake delivery logs, duplicate master keys to unlock the tankers, Rs 1.05 lakh in cash, and multiple drums with the stolen fuel were also seized from the spot.
'The ATF was originally loaded at HPCL Asoda Depot, Bahadurgarh, for delivery to Indira Gandhi International Airport. The accused drivers, in collusion with the transporter and godown operator, manipulated the GPS tracking system and diverted the tankers to the Mundka godown,' said Aditya Gautam, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch).
'The tanker locks – secured with keys exclusive to the destination depot – were bypassed using duplicate keys. Forged dip rods were used to simulate legitimate delivery measurements. The siphoned ATF was then sold in the open market under the guise of Mineral Turpentine Oil, which is commonly used in the ink and paint industry,' he added.
The police have stated that the racket had been operational for nearly three years, with an estimated 5,000 litres of ATF being siphoned off daily.
The seized fuel and tankers have been handed over to the oil company concerned after due documentation. Further investigation is underway to trace additional beneficiaries of the racket.
