Mumbai crime branch on Tuesday, September 17 busted a major Oil Mafia Racket and three people were arrested for partially replacing furnace oil dispatched from Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) for Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) oil fields in Mumbai, India Today reported. 

The crime branch officials said people working with BPCL will also be questioned in the matter as the racket has been going on for the past several years.

The three arrested, identified as Mohammad Yakun Mohammed Nasim Siddiqi, Saifu Mohammad Nafis Khan and Raju Kailash Saroj are all currently in police custody and cops are investigating the racket. 

The accused have been charged under sections 379, 420, 462, 472, 484 and 120b of the Indian Penal Code. According to cops, the main mastermind is still at large. He will be arrested soon, they said.

Senior police inspector Mahesh Desai of crime branch unit 9 said the gang has been operating for the past several years. Desai also said BPCL gave the contract to a third-party for bringing furnace oil from JNPT to Bpcl Oil Fields in Mahul Gaon area of Mumbai.

According to a report, the people associated with the third-party company, however, used to take the oil tanker to a parking lot en route BPCL facility. At this parking lot, half the furnace oil from the tanker was transferred into another tanker already stationed at the parking lot.

To cover the margin, the gang would refill the company tanker with water and seal it off before taking it to the BPCL oil fields. Then, the stolen furnace oil was then sold on the black market at a lower price.

The Mumbai crime branch suspects that BPCL employees might also be involved in the scam as the tempered tankers passed the security check while entering the company’s storage area.

The police suspect that the oil mafia racket caused heavy loss to the BPCL.