Mangaluru: Three individuals were arrested on the charges of robbery of vehicles which were later used for smuggling sand, in and around the State.

The arrested were identified as Moidin Shareef (26), Dawood Jaleel (21) and Moidin Irshad (21), all from Kumble and Uppala areas of Kasargod district.

The police have seized five pick-up trucks, two Maruti Omnis and a WagonR. The robberies were reported under the Bantwal town police station and Vittal police station limits, whereas one Omni was also stolen within the limits of Mangaluru city police limits.

The operation was held on the directions of SP Dr Sharanappa, Additional Police Commissioner Vincent Shantakumar, and Bantwal sub-divisional ASP Rahul Kumar.