Three arrested in major oil theft case

A major crude oil theft operation involving an underground pipeline belonging to Pakistan Oilfields Limited (POL) has been uncovered in the Dhamiyal police station limits, where suspects allegedly dug a tunnel from a rented house to tap the company's main supply line and stole around 1,100 barrels of crude oil worth more than Rs23.2 million.

Dhamial police registered a case on the complaint of Shahid Ahmed, senior executive administration officer at POL.

According to the FIR, the suspects rented a house near the company's high-pressure supply line and laid a 181-foot-long pipe through an underground tunnel to reach the main pipeline. One end of the pipe was connected to the supply line with a clamp, allowing crude oil to flow into an underground storage tank built inside the house.

Police said 1,431 litres of crude oil were recovered from the tank during a raid, while three suspects, Muhammad Mumtaz, Shaukat and Muhammad Akram, were arrested at the scene.

The FIR also nominated Shah Muhammad, the caretaker of the house, along with Sajid, Akhtar, Hafizur Rehman and Zahid for their alleged involvement in the theft.