Three held for siphoning aviation turbine fuel from tanker near Ahmedabad airport cargo complex

Ahmedabad Police have arrested three men for allegedly stealing aviation turbine fuel (ATF) from a tanker parked in an open field near the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International (SVPI) Airport, officials said on Monday.

As per the FIR registered by the Local Crime Branch (LCB), Zone-4, the incident took place before 10 pm on December 15 in an open field opposite the Centre for Perishable and General Cargo Complex, located behind the airport’s cargo building and outside the airport premises. The accused have been identified as Sanjay Singh alias Dipusingh Rajput, Bhupasingh Tomar and Mandeep Singh Sidhu, all residents of Ahmedabad.

Police said the trio, acting in collusion, siphoned highly flammable aviation turbine fuel from a tanker truck without using any safety equipment, thereby endangering public safety. The tanker was carrying Jet A-1 fuel consigned to the SVPI Airport.

The theft came to light after LCB personnel received a tip-off while on patrol in the Meghaninagar area. A police team reached the spot, along with two panch witnesses, and found two men actively draining fuel from the tanker using a long, transparent plastic pipe fitted with a nozzle, while plastic containers filled with fuel were kept nearby. The accused were detained on the spot.

During the search, police recovered 39 plastic containers containing approximately 780 litres of aviation turbine fuel, valued at Rs 60,000, along with tools used to open the tanker lids. A green closed-body loading vehicle, valued at Rs 1 lakh, and two mobile phones were also seized. The total value of the seized property is estimated at over Rs 11.7 lakh, police said.

Airport fuel station officials confirmed that the liquid recovered was aviation turbine fuel. As the seal of the tanker had been tampered with, the remaining fuel could not be used. According to Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) guidelines, the tanker was sent back to the Indian Oil Corporation depot at Bareja for safe unloading and inspection.

Police said the act amounted to criminal breach of trust, theft and negligent handling of a dangerous substance. A case has been registered at Meghaninagar Police Station under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and further investigation is under way to ascertain whether others were involved and how long the siphoning operation had been going on.