The Sewri police have busted an illegal petroleum storage racket operating out of a cold depot on Fasberry Road near Mazagaon, arresting four men and seizing petroleum-like products worth nearly Rs 63 lakh. Four more suspects remain at large.
Acting on a tip-off, a police team raided the depot late on November 4 and found several tankers, a tempo, and several iron drums filled with petroleum-like substance. In total, 33,800 litres of fuel were recovered, along with storage containers and vehicles, all valued at R62.91 lakh.
The arrested men have been identified as Mahendra Kumar Ramnath Yadav, 39; Amit Ramhit Yadav, 22; Rajkumar Lalan Prasad Verma, 26; and Sanjay Parasnath Verma, 22 — all drivers from Mankhurd and Chembur. The absconding accused have been named as Arif, Ramesh Saroj, Jamshed, and Santosh, with searches ongoing.
According to a complaint by Chira Bazar resident Suraj Praveen Deore, 31; the accused were diverting tanker vehicles from their authorised routes and offloading petroleum at the Sewri depot for illegal resale. They siphoned fuel from tankers, transferred it into iron drums and plastic cans, and stored it unsafely, officials said.
A senior officer noted the material was handled “in a manner that endangered the lives of the accused and others nearby,” as the depot had no safety measures or fire precautions. The seizure included 14 iron drums (2,800 litres total), three tankers, one tempo, and several empty drums, cans, buckets, hoses, and tools used for decanting. The total estimated value of goods and vehicles recovered is Rs 62.91 lakh.
A case has been registered under Sections 287 and 125 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) — dealing with negligent conduct with combustible matter and common intention — and Sections 3 and 7 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, which regulates petroleum storage and distribution.
The raid was supervised by Senior Police Inspector Rohit Khot, with PSIs Jitendra Patil and Abhijit Jadhav leading the operation. Samples of the seized substance have been sent for forensic testing to confirm whether it is petroleum or an adulterated variant. Police are also verifying vehicle ownership and examining route bills and consignment papers to trace the source of the fuel. Investigators suspect the accused could be part of a larger network involved in illegal extraction and resale of petroleum products across the city.
