In a major breakthrough, Puttur Town Police have arrested five individuals for allegedly stealing coffee bags worth Rs21.44 lakh from a lorry transporting goods from Piriya to Mangaluru.
The accused are Ashlesha Bhatt (prime accused), Narayana Shettigar, Mithun Kumar, Vijay Shetty, and Mohammad Ashraf. Police recovered two auto-rickshaws, a goods tempo used in the crime, and all 80 stolen gunny bags, each containing 60 kg of coffee beans.
The case was registered based on a complaint by Tirthesh (29) of Kabaka, owner and driver of lorry KA 19 AB 2258. On December 3, he loaded 320 gunny bags of coffee beans from a curing company in Piriya and parked the lorry overnight at Nehru Nagar. Upon arrival at Mangaluru port the next day, a routine quality check revealed that the rear seal had been tampered with and 80 bags were missing.
Police registered the case under Crime No. 120/2025, invoking Section 303(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023. Swift investigation led to the arrest of the accused and the complete recovery of the stolen property.
