India, March 11 -- A 31-year-old man from Titwala has been arrested for his alleged involvement in a series of house-breaking thefts in the Diva-Mumbra area. The Thane Crime Branch recovered more than 1 kg of stolen gold ornaments worth Rs.1.39 crore from his possession.

According to the police, the accused, Shivaji Gopal Sante, a resident of Ganeshwadi in Titwala East, has been operating in and around Diva for the past two-and-a-half years, targeting locked houses in sparsely occupied or under-construction buildings.

"The accused specifically targeted houses in under-construction or partially occupied buildings, where the lack of residents, security guards and CCTV cameras made it easier to carry out the thefts without being detected,"...