The Palarivattom police on Friday arrested a person who allegedly stands accused in over 400 theft cases spanning over 40 years in two States and a Union Territory.
Gopi, aka Lawrence David, 62, of Purasavakkam in Tamil Nadu, was nabbed by the Palarivattom police after a chase early Friday. The police were after him in connection with the theft of ₹1.10 lakh from a distribution centre of a sanitaryware company on South Janata Road on April 7 midnight.
The CCTV footage of the theft was posted on the official Facebook page of the Kerala Police, a first, in an effort to track him down with the help of social media.
“We had traced his identity when he accidentally landed in front of us on his motorcycle during a vehicle check on South Janatha Road. He slowed down, but sped off realising that we were police. We caught up with him near the South railway station,” P.S. Sreejesh, Palarivattom Inspector, said.
An iron rod, screwdrivers, and torch, which he allegedly used for theft, were recovered from him. He was also found in possession of around 25 sovereigns of gold ornaments, which he had apparently stolen from a house, with regard to which the South Police had registered a case, and a few foreign currency notes.
The police said he had been staying at a lodge near the South railway station for the last two months. He was released from a jail in Puducherry in November 2018. He moved to Kerala after the Purasavakkam police intensified the probe in a theft case and since then operated in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, and Thrissur districts.
He stands accused in three theft cases registered by the South police station and in cases registered by the North and Central police in Kochi besides in cases registered by the Vanchiyoor and Museum police in Thiruvananthapuram.
Convicted in 33 cases
The police said he was an accused in a multitude of theft cases and had spent over 20 years in the Central jails of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
He had been convicted in more than 33 cases in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
A team led by Mr. Sreejesh and comprising of SI M. Ajaya Mohan, senior civil police officer P.K. Gireesh Kumar, and civil police officers Mahin Abubacker, P.B. Aneesh, and V.S. Binu made the arrest.
