By Mukesh 
In a major breakthrough, the Sri Sathya Sai district police have reportedly cracked two separate highway dacoity cases reported on the NH-44, in which victims were kidnapped and cash worth ₹5.8 crore was looted.
In these twin cases, the police arrested seven more suspects, in addition to the three arrested in March this year, and seized ₹1.26 crore in cash, three mobile phones, three top-model SUVs, and weapons used to perpetrate the crimes at Mamillapalli village, located 50 km from here, early on Wednesday.
Addressing a press conference, Superintendent of Police (SP) S. Satish Kumar said that the incidents reported in December 2025 and February 2026 exhibited a strikingly similar pattern. The modus operandi was that armed gangs would intercept vehicles in motion, smash the windows, and forcibly pull out the occupants. Within minutes, they would make off with large sums of cash, abandoning the victims later at deserted locations.
The SP said that the gang members, belonging to multiple States, worked in coordination and with speed, allegedly using multiple vehicles with fake number plates during the operations, and every move appeared carefully planned. “Even toll payments were made in cash, a deliberate attempt to avoid leaving behind any digital footprint,” he said.
The gang’s strategic moves made the investigation gruelling. Police teams scanned CCTV footage along a stretch of over 200 km, covering national and state highways and toll plazas across Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. Technical analysis of call data and electronic identifiers allegedly revealed that the accused relied heavily on fake SIM cards and internet-based communication to evade detection by the police.
The network reportedly involved 21 members operating across States, indicating a well-organised nationwide crime syndicate. The SP said that multiple special teams were on the job to track down the elusive members.