‘Teetotaler’ thieves who stole brandy-truck caught, Rs 56 lakh worth alcohol intact

Kanchikacherla SI said that the truck was recovered from a location a few kilometres away from the spot where the truck went missing from.

news Crime

Kanchikacherla police have recovered a truck carrying a liquor consignment which was stolen in the wee hours of Sunday on the Hyderabad-Vijayawada highway in Andhra Pradesh. The truck had been carrying brandy bottles worth more than Rs 56 lakh, and was on its way from from a bottling unit to a liquor depot. The theft had taken place near Kanchikacherla village in Krishna district.

Kanchikacherla SI said that the truck was recovered from a location a few kilometres away from the spot where the truck went missing from. “It was an area with many empty plots. We received information about the truck, as the truck’s registration plate was still in place. Through CCTV footage, we traced the theft to a man called Charan. On inquiring, we inferred that he had been planning to sell the liquor with four of his associates.” However, the thieves don’t seem to have consumed any of the liquor.

The five men were arrested and produced in court on Wednesday, after which they were sent to remand. The owner of the truck is yet to receive the vehicle with the consignment from the court.

Venkateshwara Rao, who owns and drives the truck, was carrying a truckful of Old Admiral brandy from Sentini Beverages in the nearby Gandepalli village. On Saturday night, he was on his way to a liquor depot in Tenali town in Guntur district. He stopped at Kanchikacherla and went home for dinner. He returned to find the truck missing.

Kanchikacherla SI said that the culprits had picked the lock and made away with the truck.

Earlier, in the month of May, two different accidents involving beer trucks had occurred in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. A truck in Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh had caught fire, destroying 15,600 bottles worth Rs 15 lakh. The driver of the truck had suffered burn injuries. In another incident in Hyderabad’s Begumpet area, a beer truck had tipped over causing traffic disruption during Monday morning rush hour. First-aid was provided to commuters who suffered minor injuries.