Mumbai: The Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU) of the Mumbai Crime Branch on Friday recreated the crime scene in the sensational INSAS rifle theft case at Navy Nagar, Colaba. The exercise, which lasted for about an hour, began around 6 pm, with both arrested accused — Rakesh Dubulla (20) and his elder brother Umesh Dubulla (25) — present at the spot.

According to investigators, the duo allegedly stole the rifle with the motive of creating terror in the forests of Asifabad, Telangana, using high-tech weaponry. Police suspect the brothers also intended to expand their extortion activities in the region.

Rakesh, an Agniveer jawan posted at INS Kochi, had earlier served at INS Garuda in Mumbai in February 2024, giving him prior knowledge of Navy Nagar’s internal setup. His brother Umesh, police revealed, is allegedly involved in illicit liquor trade and extortion rackets in Telangana. Mumbai Police have sought details of Umesh’s criminal record from the Telangana Police. Investigators believe the brothers were planning to establish dominance in forest areas through rackets involving teakwood, tendu leaves, ayurvedic herbs, and liquor smuggling.

On September 6, Umesh allegedly entered Navy Nagar impersonating a Quick Reaction Team (QRT) member. He approached a 20-year-old jawan on radar protection duty at AP Towers and convinced him to hand over his rifle along with two loaded magazines and one empty magazine. The jawan later realised he had been duped, and the weapon was missing.

Police said Rakesh tossed the rifle over the compound wall to Umesh, after which the two fled to Telangana via train from Lokmanya Tilak Terminus. The stolen rifle and magazines were later recovered from a forest area near their home in Asifabad, where they had been hidden in bushes.

Mumbai: Mumbai Airport Customs officials made a seizure of 24 Kt Gold, foreign currency and diamond studded ornaments across two cases, agency sources said on Friday.

According to the Customs sources, 24 Kt Gold pieces having weight of 0.689 Kg valued at Rs 66.43 lakh was recovered from a passenger arriving from Dubai to Mumbai.

“The gold was found concealed inside the body cavity of the passenger. The passenger was arrested under the provisions of Customs Act,” said a Customs source.

The agency is probing who had provided gold to the passenger and who was supposed to receive the said consignment in Mumbai, officials said.

In another case, foreign currency equivalent to Indian Rs 35.92 lakh and 24 Kt Gold Ring (01) & Earrings (02) studded with natural diamonds valued at Rs 1.30 lakh was recovered from a passenger going to Bangkok from Mumbai.

The goods were found concealed inside the trolley bag carried by the passenger.

Thane: The Thane Crime Branch units II and III have arrested five habitual vehicle thieves and solved 26 theft cases, recovering 28 stolen motorcycles worth over ₹17 lakh.

The accused have been identified as Atul Khandagale (24) of Pune, Shekhar Pawar (30) of Jalgaon, Akash Nasargandh (23) of Kalyan, Ghazi Hussain (19) of Ambivli in Kalyan, and Mustaque Ansari of Bhiwandi.

Thane Police recently launched a special drive against vehicle theft across the commissionerate. Acting on a tip-off and with the help of technical intelligence, the crime branch laid a trap and apprehended the suspects.

According to officials, the recovered vehicles were stolen from multiple jurisdictions, including Thane, Navi Mumbai, Mumbai, and Thane Rural. The seized vehicles, comprising motorcycles and cars, are valued at ₹17,89,899.

All the accused were produced in court and remanded to police custody for further investigation.