23-year-old held with stolen gold linked to house burglaries

A 23-year-old private employee was arrested after police recovered gold ornaments and other stolen property worth about ₹25 lakh from him in Kushaiguda.

The accused, Guguloth Naveen, a resident of Ratiram Thanda in Mahabubabad district, was apprehended during vehicle checks at Chakripuram cross roads on October 31. Police stopped him while he was riding a motorcycle and found gold ornaments in his bag after he failed to produce the vehicle documents.

During questioning, Naveen admitted to stealing gold ornaments weighing about 371 grams from a house at Krishnaveni Heights Apartments in Rukminipuri Colony on the night of October 20, police said. The ornaments were valued at about ₹23 lakh.

Malkajgiri Police Commissioner B Sumathi said that Naveen was also linked to several house burglary and property-related cases registered in Kushaiguda, Hanumakonda, Pocharam IT Corridor, Medipally and Ghatkesar police stations.

The recoveries included 371 grams of gold ornaments, two Hero Glamour motorcycles, a four-gram gold ring and a Samsung smartwatch. The motorcycles were valued at ₹60,000 each, while the gold ring and smartwatch were valued at ₹70,000 and ₹10,000 respectively.

According to the Commissioner, Naveen completed Class X, and a course in Medical Laboratory Technology, before working as a laboratory technician. She said about 18 criminal cases had earlier been registered against him across Telangana and that he had been imprisoned.

He was released from Jangaon District Jail on October 7 and allegedly resumed property-related offences, police said. He reportedly targeted locked houses and apartments, entering by breaking locks or through other accessible routes. Further investigation is under way.