City Task Force personnel arrested two persons and seized a chemical tanker carrying about 16 MT of acetone at an open yard in Lankelapalem on Tuesday night. CTF Inspector Illyas Mohammed said that the duo was caught pilfering the chemical at the yard after breaking the seal of the tanker. The arrested included driver of the tanker S. Sreenu and Prasad Raju, a resident of Aganampudi, who had taken the yard on lease from Satyanarayana of Hyderabad.
The police are on the lookout for the third person, Srinivasa Raju of Tanuku in West Godavari district and partner of Prasad Raju. Mr. Illyas said that the accused had been in the business since the last one month. “They strike a deal with drivers of tankers and steal some quantity of the chemical without the knowledge of the owners,” the Inspector said. Pilferage of chemicals and fuel appear to be an organised crime in the city with three cases being reported in the last two months.