In a rare incident of this kind in this part of the State, Dacoits struck late on Saturday night on the National Highway near Devipuram in Sabbavaram mandal of Visakhapatnam district and looted a container truck transporting cigarettes worth about Rs. 6 crore.
The container truck, originated from a warehouse of Indian Tobacco Company (ITC) in Howrah in West Bengal, was on its way to Hyderabad.
According to the police, the container truck was overtaken and intercepted by a lorry near Devipuram and was forced to stop.
Seven to eight persons, armed with rods and knives, alighted from the lorry and beat up the lone driver of the container truck, Mohammed Aslam Khan.
“They tied his hands and legs and threw him near the bushes on the Visakhapatnam- Anakapalle NH, and drove both the container truck and the lorry to a secluded spot near AS Peta under Kasimkota Police Station,” said Anakapalle DSP D. Purushottam.
At AS Peta they transferred the cigarette cartons from the container to the lorry and drove away.
