Dear Reader
In the early hours of October 2, 2019, between about 1am and 3am, two persons entered into Lalithaa Jewellery Store in Tiruchirapalli, after making a roughly one foot wide hole in one of the walls of the store which was on the side of an empty space belonging to a popular school. According to footage recorded in the CCTV cameras installed in the store the burglars spent almost 90 minutes in the store during which they gathered about 30kg of gold, diamond and platinum jewellery worth about Rs. 13 crores in a bag and went out through the same hole through which they had come in. The CCTV footage reveals that the burglars used Walt Disney cartoon type animal masks to hide their faces which indicates that they took precautions not to be easily recognised. Further, the robbers used gloves to cover their fingerprints and spilt chilli powder to confuse the sniffer dogs. The carefully crafted plan made it difficult for forensic experts and police dog squad to gather useful clues from the crime scene.
According to one account, one of the burglars had even tied a rope to his leg and the other end was presumably being handled by an accomplice on the outside. The rope was presumably used for signalling as well as to transfer the bag full of stolen jewellery through the narrow hole in the wall.
When the Police cracked the case, Manikandan who was one of the men behind the burglary, reportedly told the police that “Our boss ‘Tiruvarur’ Murugan, (the mastermind behind the robbery) watches ‘Money Heist’ on Netflix regularly and he was like ‘The Professor’ in the web series”.
Money Heist (La Casa De Papel) is a Spanish web series that is available on Netflix. The core concept of the series revolves around the biggest bank heist centred on the Royal Mint Of Spain. One of the pivotal characters in the series is “The Professor” who devises master plans for his team to carry out robberies.
Apparently, mastermind Murugan’s wife had earlier visited the store on several occasions to scope out the place and helped the gang plan their moves. What is surprising is that though there were six guards on duty at the place none of them seems to have heard any sound of hammering which must have been done when chiselling away the bricks in the wall to make the hole through which the entry was made.
Also, while the owners had apparently spent a significant sum of money in putting in a CCTV system, it seems they did not consult a security specialist, since there was no alarm raised by a video motion detection or passive infra-red or vibration (seismic) detection system. In addition to the CCTV, if a good intrusion detection and alarm system had been installed the story may have had a very different outcome.
The fact that the main culprits have been apprehended is no credit to the security system installed. The entire credit goes to the police for having followed up on all leads, including the fact that the modus operandi used by the burglars was similar to that followed in the Punjab National Bank burglary case in Tiruchirappalli in January earlier this year, where a hole had been drilled in the wall of the strong room.
This story highlights that burglars and other criminals are more up to date in their knowledge and methods than those who need to protect their assets. It is time security system installers improved their knowledge and skills and give the customers their money’s worth.
Till we meet next month, Cheers, Stay Safe and Keep Others Safe.
G B Singh
Group Editor
Email: gbsingh@1stasset.org
Follow me on @EditorGB
Connect with me on Linkedin.com/in/gbsingh9
