Inter-State Burglar Held In Ongole; Property Worth ₹1.36 Crore Recovered
The accused has been identified as Soheil Khan alias Mohammed Sameer Khan, 38, originally from Bengaluru and currently residing in Hyderabad.
Nellore: Prakasam district police have arrested an inter-state professional burglar who targeted locked houses during the daytime and recovered gold ornaments worth ₹1.03 crore, ₹15 lakh in cash, an XUV valued at ₹18 lakh—all together worth ₹1.36 crore.
The accused has been identified as Soheil Khan alias Mohammed Sameer Khan, 38, originally from Bengaluru and currently residing in Hyderabad. His arrest involved CCTV footage, technical evidence, vehicle movements and field-level investigations.
Police said the accused had been involved in seven burglaries between June and August 2026 in Narasaraopet, Mylavaram, Nuzvid, Vinukonda, and Ongole. In Ongole, he committed thefts from two houses on August 5—one at Andhra Kesari Nagar in the morning and another at Samata Nagar in the evening. Police recovered about 394 grams of gold and ₹5 lakh cash just in these two cases.
According to police, Khan conducted reconnaissance of locked houses, travelled between cities on vehicles purchased through OLX, and melted stolen gold using his own equipment, before selling the gold to jewellery shops. He also allegedly spent around ₹42 lakh of the stolen money on betting and casinos.
The breakthrough came on Tuesday when police had been conducting vehicle checks near Alas Hotel on the South Bypass in Ongole. Khan tried to flee but police chased and apprehended him.
Police said the accused has previous criminal cases registered against him in Karnataka, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh, including Hyderabad and Anantapur, apart from Palnadu and Krishna districts.
Investigations had been conducted by Ongole Taluk inspector T. Vijay Krishna, sub-inspector Sheikh Mohammed Firoz, and Ongole I Town SI Nagendra Rao under the supervision of Ongole SDPO Rayapati Srinivasa Rao
Announcing the arrest of Khan, Prakasam SP V. Harshavardhan Raju said in all, 367 property offence cases have been registered so far across the district. Property worth ₹4.33 crore has been recovered against a loss of ₹5.41 crore. As many as 190 accused have been arrested.
The SP appreciated the police personnel and announced cash rewards for their efforts.
He advised residents to inform the local police when leaving home for extended periods, avoid keeping large quantities of cash or jewellery at home, report suspicious persons or vehicles, and install CCTV cameras at their residences.
