Salem, October 23 — Salem City Police have arrested five men in connection with the theft of 550 kilograms of silver valued at approximately Rs 13.5 crore from a storage building in Cinema Nagar, near Chinneri Vayalkadu, within the Pallapatti police station limits, Mirror Now reported on Friday, citing police officials. The recovered silver was presented at the office of the Sooramangalam Assistant Commissioner of Police on Friday evening, the report said.

Source: Mirror Now

The heist took place in the early hours of October 12. According to the initial police account reported by The New Indian Express, a masked gang allegedly assaulted and tied up the warehouse watchman, Venkatesan (60), sprayed the CCTV cameras and removed the digital video recorder before breaking open the storage building and fleeing with the silver articles. The warehouse belongs to Balasubramaniam (60), a wholesale silver trader and manufacturer who stores silver ingots, anklets and other articles there. Initial reports estimated the haul at around 600 kg worth up to Rs 15 crore; police now put the stolen quantity at 550 kg valued at about Rs 13.5 crore.

Source: The New Indian Express (via Ghanamma)

1,000 cameras and a 2,400 km escape run, police say

Police said special teams tracked the suspects across several districts, including Coimbatore, Tiruchirappalli, Madurai and Thanjavur. The breakthrough came after investigators reviewed footage from more than 1,000 CCTV cameras to identify the vehicle used in the crime. That trail led to the alleged prime suspect, S. Abishiek, 21, of Coimbatore, who was taken into custody in Thanjavur on Thursday night. Four other men — Sridhar, Gnanaprakasam, Arunkumar and Annamalai — were arrested subsequently, police said.

Source: Mirror Now

Salem Commissioner of Police A.G. Babu said, according to the report, that the gang travelled roughly 2,400 kilometres within a 24-hour window after the heist, deliberately bypassing toll gates and avoiding stops to evade detection. Police said that on questioning, Abishiek led officers to a location in Thanjavur where part of the stolen silver had been stashed. Officers recovered 323 kg of silver items, along with two vehicles, masks, gloves, spray and iron rods said to have been used in the crime.

Three more suspects sought; 227 kg still missing

Police said Abishiek has a murder case and an Arms Act case pending against him, according to their records — those are prior allegations, and in the Salem heist case itself all five arrested men are accused persons who are yet to face trial. The five were to be produced before a court for remand. Commissioner Babu said police are searching for three additional suspects believed to be involved, and efforts to recover the remaining 227 kg of stolen silver are continuing.

Source: Mirror Now