The police achieved a breakthrough in 20 cases and recovered stolen valuables worth about Rs. 26 lakh with the arrest of seven offenders in various parts of Prakasam district on Thursday.

Presenting the offenders before the media here, Superintendent of Police C.M. Trivikrama Varma said the valuables seized from three offenders - Ch. Sisindri(20), T. Vamsikrishna(21) and K. Prem Kumar(20) - arrested at the Ballikurava bus stand centre at Santamagaluru included 540 grams of gold ornaments, 505 grams of silver articles and six motorbikes, all worth Rs 23 lakh.

The modus operandi of the habitual offenders, who had come together while cooling their heels in jails in Ongole and Narasarapet, was to break into isolated houses in Ongole, Darsi, Addanki, Podili, Medarmetla, Ulavapadu and Santamagaluru at night and decamp with the valuables, the SP said.

The recoveries were made based on information provided by Ch. Harikrishna(28) and A. Ashok(45) of Chimakurthy town who bought the stolen jewellery.

Two computers, eight monitors, a laser printer, seven keyboards and other accessories worth about Rs. 82,000 were recovered on Thursday from two other offenders - Madhu(32) and Lakshminarayana(24).

The duo broke open the doors of the Zilla Parishad High School at Ponduru village, near Tangutur, on September 4 night and made away with the electronic goods, the Superintendent of Police said.

The arrest of two property offenders, Syed Babu(23) and Y. Manoj(27) here on Thursday led to the recovery of a motorcycle, gold mangalasutra and ear rings besides 24 tyres and eight auto batteries worth about Rs. 2 lakh, he added.

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BY M. DIVYA SRI