Oil rigged

After two raids in three days yielded a smuggled diesel haul of Rs 7 cr, MiD DAY gives you a lowdown on the intricate workings of the thriving oil mafia, which contributes nearly Rs 1,000 cr every year to the black market economy

Oil rigged

THE oil mafia is alive and kicking in the city despite the police crackdown on it after additional collector Yeshwant Sonawane was burnt alive by its members in Manmad this January.

This fact is borne out by two raids carried out by Special Branch (SB) II of the Mumbai Police in the last three days, which led to the recovery of illegal diesel consignments valued at nearly Rs 7 crore from 20 tankers. The annual turnover of this flourishing industry is estimated to be close to a whopping Rs 1,000 crore.

Acting on a tip-off, Mankhurd police officials seized four oil tankers yesterday.

Acting on a tip-off from the Special Branch, which has received explicit orders from Mumbai Police Commisioner Arup Patnaik to act against the oil mafia, the Mankhurd police raided a tanker stand near Vashi checknaka in the wee hours yesterday and arrested three people involved in oil smuggling.

Mohammed Jalaluddin, Rashid Mohammed Jumman, Sanjay Budhsen and Noor Mohammed were offloading oil smuggled into the city from four tankers at the stand, which is at the Mankhurd end of the checknaka. Noor Mohammed managed to escape but the other three, including the kingpin, Jalaluddin, were arrested.

Pascal D'Souza, senior inspector, Mankhurd police station, said, "Our force was busy with the bandobast for Ambedkar Jayanti when we got a tip-off from the SB about diesel smuggling taking place near Vashi checknaka. A team raided the tanker stand and arrested three people, while the fourth is absconding.
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The smugglers chose that time because they knew we would be busy with the bandobast. The accused have been booked under Sections 407, 411, 379, 34 and 120 (B) of the IPC."

Investigations revealed that Jalaluddin has been in the oil smuggling business for close to eight years and was arrested in Bhiwandi and let off on bail last year. He was actively smuggling oil into areas like Chembur, Deonar, Bhiwandi, Wadala and Kurla. When the police heat increased following Sonawane's death, he concentrated his attention on Mankhurd and Vashi, where he was working with Noor Mohammed.

Pani ka kaam
"Jalaluddin is, however, small fry compared to the many oil kings in the underworld. There are dozens of them like Rafiq, Salim Bori, Baban, Noor, Battiwala, Munna Maldar, Murugan, Santosh and Sadiq. Dawood Ibrahim's associates Tingubhai and Langdabhai are also part of the pani ka kaam (oil landing business in underworld lingo)," said an underworld source.

Modus operandi
The oil smugglers keep tugs (small powerful boats designed for towing or pushing larger vessels) ready at anchoring points like Mallet Bunder and Ferry Wharf. These boats are not used for towing any vessels, however, but simply to smuggle oil from larger vessels into the city.

Large ships carrying oil into the state from refineries, offshore rigs, other states or countries have to stop at a point called Bravo Anchorage, about 20 nautical miles from the Mumbai harbour, as the water is too shallow for them to venture beyond that. Smaller vessels then offload oil from them and carry them to the coast.

The oil mafia deals with the captains of these merchant ships regularly and the ship's staff alerts them when it reaches Bravo anchorage. The tugs then go there, offload oil from them paying Rs 12 per litre for diesel and return to either Ferry Wharf or Mallet Bunder.

Tankers are stationed near these anchorage points to ferry oil from the tugboats to places like Wadala, Antop Hill and Kurla, which are the major hubs of oil smuggling in the state. Oil is then smuggled from here to places like Indian Oil Nagar, Taloja, Shivaji Nagar, Deonar and even places outside the state.

If the tugs encounter heavy coast guard patrolling on the way to Mumbai, they divert to Alibaug and wait there until the time is right.

"The deal is often clinched by an agent even before the ship reaches Mumbai harbour. Some shipping companies from countries like Indonesia and Phillipines have agents in Mumbai. These agents act as point men and also help in negotiating with the racketeers. They work on commission.

Some of the payments are made in dollars, giving a fillip to the burgeoning hawala trade in the city," said the source. The purloined diesel is bought at around Rs 12 per litre and sold at a profit of Rs 6-8 per litre.

Tankers
Most of the tankers used for the palti (offloading) job have a secret cavity to hold pilfered diesel. These cavities are filled with water when the tanker reaches its unloading destination. "The drivers of the tankers are provided with fake bills in case they are intercepted along the route. In most cases, a sizeable hafta is ensured for police officials on the route," he added.

The mafia has strong links with several dubious petrol pump owners. The stolen diesel is pumped into the tanks of the petrol pump under the cover of darkness. "Since diesel is sold clandestinely at cheap rates, it is a great loss to the state exchequer," said an excise officer, requesting anonymity.

The underworld source, however, said that oil smuggling is a very lucrative business and also among the most dangerous in the Mumbai underworld. "It practically guarantees a rags-to-riches route for those involved."

Profit booking
There are dozens of illegal depots dotting the state's highways where the pilfered oil is stored. Diesel is bought at Rs 12 per litre and sold at Rs 17 per litre here. In some cases, the stolen diesel is offloaded at petrol pumps across the state, whose owners sell it at the market rate. The owner sells it at a market price of between Rs 36 and Rs 48, making a profit of more than 200 per cent.

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Noor Mohammed and Mohammed Jalaluddin were offloading the smuggled oil. Noor managed to escape but Jalaluddin was arrested

Murders galore
A police officer said Jalaluddin and Noor Mohammed's syndicate may be involved in the mysterious disappearance of radio officer Debashish Dey in February. Internecine rivalry in the oilf mafia is also believed to be behind the murder of Sayed Chand Madar in September last year.

How they Mint money on the high seas
When merchant vessels reach Bravo Anchorage, the captain informs the oil mafia's agents, whose tugs wait at Ferry Wharf and Mallet Bunder

The tugs, which have a capacity of 20,000 and 40,000 litres, depending on the model, take turns to visit the vessel and offload the oil

They then return to Ferry Wharf and Mallet Bunder or take a detour to Alibaug in case of heavy coast guard patrolling, where they wait until the coast is clear

After reaching Ferry Wharf and Mallet Bunder, they quickly pump the oil into waiting tankers

The loaded trucks then go to oil smuggling hubs like Wadala, Antop Hill and Kurla

Oil is either offloaded there or the tankers leave for various destinations in the state to deliver the oil to petrol pump owners after agents fix a deal

Number Game

Rs 1,000 Cr: Estimated annual turnover of the illegal diesel syndicate

200%: Approx profit margin of dubious petrol pump owners

20,000: The capacity (in litres) of an average tugboat

RS 8: The approximate profit made by the oil mafia per litre of diesel sold. They purchase diesel from vessels at Rs 12 per litre.