Not all who arrive in Goa come for the parties and music. Some have nefarious intents.
Goa police apprehended an interstate gang of 12 persons, who were here to take full advantage of the Goan festive mood and steal from unsuspecting tourists and revellers.
They seized 8 gm MDMA and 41 high-end mobiles worth around 30 lakh from them.
The 12 were here to make the most of the Sunburn festival -- while people would groove to the music, their objective was to steal mobiles, wallets and whatever personal items they could get.
The gang had purchased tickets for the ongoing Sunburn festival to facilitate their entry at the event.
The gang members were nabbed from a hotel in Baga, Calangute area where they were staying for the past two to three days.
They had arrived in Goa from Maharashtra to steal mobiles and other valuables from people attending Sunburn EDM and New Year events being held across the State, informed Nidhin Valsan, Superintendent of Police (SP) North Goa.
The SUV used by the gang has also been seized by the police. The arrested gang members have said that more people linked with the gang are in Goa. Police are in the process of finding their whereabouts, added Nidhin.
HOW THE GANG WAS NABBED
On December 28, one Jitesh Mehta of Pune filed a complaint saying his cell phone had been snatched by an unknown person from his pocket.
Acting on Mehta's plaint, Calangute police verified CCTV footage at the place of the incident and managed to trace the thief at Calangute.
After thorough interrogation, the police learnt two gangs consisting of 12 persons from Maharashtra were down in Goa to specifically steal mobile phones.
Police said that initial enquiry revealed that this gang were operating all over India. They took advantage of huge gatherings to steal mobile phones.
The police recovered the mobile phone of the complainant.
