Karnataka: 8 gang members of burglars held in Mangaluru, pistol and other ammunition seized

Eight suspected members of a burglary gang, which was allegedly planning to carry out a heist in Mangaluru district of Karnataka have been arrested, police said Saturday.

The gang members who were moving around in a Sports Utility Vehicle were arrested on Friday night.

"Based on the information, we tried to nab the gang of eight people. They were staying in a hotel room. They tried to run away from the scene. We surrounded them, picked them up and questioned for more details," Mangaluru Police Commissioner P S Harsha told reporters.

The kingpin of the gang identified as Sam Peter claimed that he was from Kerala but the preliminary investigation revealed that he was from West Bengal, the official said.

It was found that five of the gang had travelled to Bengaluru disguised as Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials. They also possessed two firearms, a revolver with eight live cartridges and another pistol, an official release said.

"These people were planning to carry out a heist," it said. A high-security alert has been sounded across the state following intelligence inputs from the Centre, police sources said.

All the important locations of the city with heavy footfall such as malls, restaurants, bus stands, railway stations, shopping complexes, government offices, government buildings, prime installations such as Vidhana Soudha, Vikas Soudha and High Court are under tight vigil.