Peruvians held,Interpol notices waiting

The police would also ask the Ministry of External Affairs to not grant them visa in future,the source added.

The arrested persons have been identified as Vicnta Montotya Chipana,71,Francisco Cordoya,45,and Falicita Infs Iparraguiree Aliaga,51.

Investigating officers said the arrests came following a complaint received from one Henny Soelistyowati,an Indonesian national,who was staying at Taj Mansingh Hotel here. Soelistyowati said in her complaint that her bag was stolen when she was at the hotel’s House of Ming restaurant recently.

A case was registered at Tughlaq Road police station and CCTV footage from the hotel restaurant was scrutinised. According to a senior officer,three persons were identified as suspects after studying the footage,and their images were circulated to security staff of several five-star hotels in the Capital.

“Chipana,71,was detained on Tuesday but he did not disclose anything in his interrogation,” the officer said. “Another police team,which was trying to trace the accused by showing images of the suspects to people at different STD booths and taxi stands in Paharganj,found a shoemaker who identified them.”

Sources said when the other two learnt of Chipana’s detention,they prepared to escape but were apprehended when they came to collect shoes they had given for repair.

The police recovered a Sony camera and US dollars stolen from Soelistyowati. Besides,five cellphones,two I-pods,a laptop,two wristwatches and three cameras were also found from their possession.

These recovered items were picked up from handbags stolen from various five-star hotels in the last 15 days,the police said,adding that the trio arrived in India on February 20 and stayed at various hotels in Paharganj.

An officer said the police took the Peruvian embassy’s assistance to interrogate the trio since language posed a problem.

How they operated
According to police,the three would go to plush hotels during breakfast carrying “big bags” and most often targetted a single women at the buffet.

“One of them,mostly Chipana,surveyed the location of CCTV cameras and then they stood in front of it to cover it,” an officer said. “The woman (Falicita) would keep her stole on the targetted bag and when owner’s attention was somewhere else,they would steal it. They put in their big bags to avoid suspicion.”