According to the police, Shafiq alias Jonny (22) and Ahmed (25) are part of a gang -- with members from Aligarh, Badaun and Delhi -- that loots factory godowns and trucks. The gang operates early in the morning and uses autos and Tata-407 tempos to escape. Once the target factory or truck is selected, the members immobilise the watchmen, labourers or drivers by first threatening them with knives and guns and then tying up their hands and legs. Yesterday, the police received information that the gang would meet somewhere near Okhla to plan another robbery. Shafiq and Ahmed were nabbed, and they have allegedly confessed to their involvement in a dacoity in Seemapuri on April 7. They were apparently part of a group of 14 people who looted a truck carrying 430 bags of Borex powder worth Rs 7 lakh.

According to the police, half of the men made the truck driver and his associate lie down on the road, tied their hands and legs, and gagged them at gun-point. This done, the other men took the truck to a godown rented by alleged gang member Yamin Kabari and unloaded 360 bags. After three to four hours, one gang member apparently came back to where the driver and his helper lay bound and gagged, and informed them that the truck had been unloaded and abandoned.

According to the police, in September 1998 Shafiq and Ahmed were part of a group that looted Anand Creations in Tughlakabad Extension. The men allegedly arrived there in a Tata-407, tied up the watchman and then left with 300 shirts and fabric collectively worth Rs 6 lakh. In January this year the same gang reportedly struck at a factory in Tughlakabad village. They scaled the factory wall, confined four labourers and the watchman in a room, and stole 40 bails of cloth worth Rs 4 lakh. They escaped in a Tata-407.

The police say the same gang robbed 38 cartons of ghee from Moti Nagar, 30 bags of aluminium and silver spare parts from Zakhira, 18 cartons of bidis from Dilshad Garden and 40 bags of plastic granules and scrap from Seemapuri. They are now looking for Shafiq and Ahmed's alleged associates -- Shamim, Sarafat, Yamin Kabari and Sabboo.