Puttur: Five arrested for coffee bag theft worth Rs 21.44 lakh; stolen goods recovered

Puttur: Five arrested for coffee bag theft worth Rs 21.44 lakh; stolen goods recovered

Mangalore Today News Network

Puttur, December 9, 2025: In a major breakthrough, Puttur Town Police have arrested five persons for allegedly stealing coffee bags worth ₹21.44 lakh from a lorry transporting goods from Piriya to Mangaluru.

The arrested accused have been identified as Ashlesha Bhatt (prime accused), Narayana Shettigar, Mithun Kumar, Vijay Shetty and Mohammad Ashraf. Police have recovered two auto-rickshaws, a goods tempo used in the crime, and all 80 stolen gunny bags — each containing 60 kg of coffee beans.

The case was registered based on a complaint by Tirthesh (29) of Kabaka, the owner and driver of lorry KA 19 AB 2258. According to his complaint, on December 3 he had loaded 320 gunny bags of coffee beans from a curing company in Piriya and was transporting them to Mangaluru. After parking the lorry overnight at Nehru Nagar, Kabaka, he resumed his journey the next day.

Upon arrival at Mangaluru port, routine quality checks revealed that the rear seal of the lorry had been tampered with and 80 bags were missing.

Police registered a case under Crime No. 120/2025, invoking Section 303(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023. A swift investigation led to the arrest of the accused and complete recovery of the stolen property.