Oct 26 (Mumbai Mirror): Four men who posed as Crime Branch officers and robbed a courier firm employee carrying gold biscuits and jewellery last week were arrested on Sunday. The suspects, part of a six-member gang, were nabbed on the Kalyan- Ahmednagar highway. But the two main planners of the Rs 2.4-crore robbery, Nandu Tailor and Himmat Tailor, are still absconding.

Nandu and Himmat had worked at courier firms for over seven years and knew that employees who collect valuable packages at the airport are usually not accompanied by security guards.

On October 21, Mahinderkumar Sahni, who works for Jai Mata Di Courier, collected one such package from the domestic airport and headed for Vile Parle on a scooter. "The suspects posed as Crime Branch officers and stopped him in Vile Parle. They bundled him into their car and snatched the package, which contained jewellery, gold biscuits and watches," said Deven Bharti, joint police commissioner (law and order).

Two of the suspects, Rahul Kathalkar and Ashish Bhosle, are history-sheeters who were earlier named in extortion and theft cases, respectively. "An officer received information about the involvement of people with a known crime record. The suspects were identified and four of them were arrested while they were trying to flee Ahmednagar," Bharti said. Kathalkar, Bhosle, Naeem Khan and Sachin Kanse, who owned the car used in the robbery, were arrested in Alephata on the Kalyan- Ahmednagar highway.

Until a few months ago, Kanse worked as agent at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust. The police have recovered valuables worth Rs 2.1 crore and are looking for Nandu and Himmat.