Berhampur: Four people were arrested in Odisha’s Ganjam district for allegedly posing as tax officials and extorting money from Andhra Pradesh-bound trucks, police said Tuesday.
Two cars, five mobile phones and Rs 1.40 lakh in cash were seized from them, police said.
Simanchal Panda, 58, Sushant Kumar Dalai, 35, Debasish Pattnaik, 30, and T Gopal Rao, 27, were arrested on Monday from the Chhatrapur area after a truck driver of East Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh lodged a police complaint.
The four accused stopped the truck, which was on the way from Kolkata to Andhra Pradesh with rice and pan masala, and extorted Rs 1.40 lakh from the owner of the vehicle via fund transfer after identifying themselves as GST officials, police said.
They took away 60 packs of pan masala before letting the truck go, the driver alleged.
PTI
