Fake IOC officials held, 10 cylinders seized

CHENNAI: Three persons, who posed as Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) officials and tried to seize domestic gas cylinders from a tea shop citing illegal use, were arrested by the police here on Wednesday. According to the police, the trio arrived at a tea shop in Thoraipakkam. Claiming to be IOC officials, they proceeded to inspect the kitchen in the shop, where they found subsidised domestic gas cylinders, which are not supposed to be used for commercial purposes. The ‘officials’ then announced that they would have to confiscate the gas cylinders. This aroused the suspicion of the shop keeper and those present in the vicinity.Police were soon called in and preliminary investigations revealed the trio’s true identities. The fake officials were arrested by the police officials, who also seized 10 domestic gas cylinders and an SUV used by the conmen.The trio was identified as Alex from Keelkattalai and Balaji and Suresh from Pudupettai.In the black market, a domestic gas cylinder refill costs `1,500, while an empty cylinder is priced anywhere between `4,000 and 6,000.