Vapi, Sarigam units consider convoys

The Vapi Industries Association claims most incidents occur between Talasari and Manor, before the consignment reaches the Nhava Sheva port in Mumbai.As soon as the truck leaves the company godown or premises, the driver or cleaner inform racketeers of the quality, quantity and price of goods they’ll be carrying.

The racketeers operate from well-equipped dens having facilities for loading unloading, welding machines, weighing machines, instruments for testing chemicals, and cellphones. The most precious or rarest goods will then be unloaded at these dens and later sold either to businessmen — whose orders have been taken in advance — or to any unsuspecting buyers. Operators take care to replace the stolen goods with equal quantity of any material to avoid detection at the port.

Alarmed by frequency of such incidents, the association recently wrote to the Union Home Ministry and Maharashtra and Gujarat police seeking urgent measures to install confidence among industries. VIA secretary V K V Nair says those thefts occurred in the past also, the incidents had increased manifold of late.

While industry sources allege the police has done precious little to allay their fears, the police, on their part, allege that industry was raising a bogey to cover up the inferior quality of goods manufactured by them.In-charge district superintendent of police Ishwarbhai Patel claims the police arrested three people about six months ago, after which there have been no incidents.

Nair contests Patel’s claim, maintaining that there had been several such thefts in the recent months. “They may have taken some steps but the results are not tangible”, Nair claims. He says though no company was blacklisted by their foreign clients, it is possible that the thefts had cost them their future transactions.

Not relying on the police, some units like Aarti Industries have employed private security to transport their goods safely. The company has bought four trucks and a tempo to do away with unscrupulous transporters, some of whom are reportedly hand-in-glove with the racketeers.

Some industries are tinkering with an idea of sending their goods together with heavy security. They think if consignments are sent in convoy with adequate police protection they would be able to contain the incidence of thefts.

They have dropped the idea of video graphing the movement of vehicles as the costs were found to be prohibitive.