Mangaluru: Mangaluru police have made a breakthrough in the high-profile robbery at Kotekar Agricultural Service Cooperative Society (N) on KC Road, Ullal, arresting a key accused and recovering a substantial portion of the stolen gold and cash.

The daring robbery, which had resulted in the theft of 18.314 kg of gold and ₹11.67 lakh in cash, was meticulously planned over six months. Police had earlier arrested four suspects—Murugan D. Devar, Joshua Rajendran, Kannan Mani, and Shanmugam Sundaram—who played various roles in the crime.

On February 24, police apprehended another prime accused, Bhaskar Belchapad, near Bengaluru Railway Station. Upon questioning, he admitted to plotting the robbery alongside local resident Mohammed Nazir, with whom he had been in contact for seven years. Nazir allegedly provided crucial intelligence, including information about the bank's security, staff movements, and escape routes.

Authorities have recovered 18.314 kg of gold and ₹3.80 lakh in cash, while ₹7.86 lakh and 360 grams of gold remain untraced. Investigations further revealed that Bhaskar Belchapad, originally from Bantwal taluk, had been living in Mumbai for 25 years and has multiple dacoity, robbery, and Arms Act cases registered against him in various police stations.

The arrests were made under the supervision of Mangaluru Police Commissioner Anupam Agarwal, IPS, with Deputy Commissioner of Police Siddharth Goel, IPS, and ACP Ravishankar KSP overseeing the operation. Ullal Police Inspector T.D. Nagaraj, along with PSI officers Sheetal Alagur and Santosh Kumar D, played crucial roles in the investigation and arrests.