Hyderabad: Police in Bhadradri Kothagudem cracked a transformer copper theft racket, arresting five men and seizing 258 kilograms of stolen metal along with vehicles and mobile phones. The accused were identified as Kella Durga Prasad, Mantri Durga Prasad, Chintapalli Shiva, Ganagalla Ganesh, and Koragattu Nagaraju.
Copper theft gang targeted rural transformers
Police said the group operated as an organised unit, scouting farmland areas in Kothagudem and Mulugu districts during the day and damaging transformers near fields at night to extract copper. The stolen copper and iron parts were sold to scrap dealers.
According to police, the gang stored stolen copper at a location in Palvancha until large quantities were gathered, then transported it to Hyderabad for sale. The investigation revealed they had dismantled transformers in Dummugudem, Burgampahad, Aswapuram, Manuguru, Pasra, Mangapet, and Pinapaka mandals, including Singireddypalli lift irrigation units.
A total of 258 kilograms of copper was recovered from the house of accused Chintapalli Shiva in Palvancha, along with a Kia car (registration TG28B 3999), an unregistered old scooter, and five mobile phones. Sub-Divisional DSP Ravinder Reddy, Inspector Venkateshwarlu, SI Suresh, and other staff took part in the operation.
