The British national, who was arrested in connection with the assault on a shopkeeper in Anjuna, has admitted to a series of thefts involving property worth Rs 5 lakh in Bardez taluka.
Lloyd Christian McMullan (43) has been involved in a series of thefts in different parts of Bardez taluka and despite having served a one-year jail term, found himself in trouble yet again when he recently attacked a shopkeeper in Anjuna.
“McMullan had come to India three years ago and got involved in a theft case at Mapusa in 2010. He was convicted for one year and served his jail term,” Anjuna PI Paresh Naik told Herald.
“Back in UK, his history was the same and he was jailed several times for theft and drug peddling activities. He is a drug addict and used to commit theft to satisfy the urge to consume drugs. He would reside in thick woods at an isolated place on the Baga hillock, as he did not have money to spend on hotels or guest houses.”
“Around two weeks ago, McMullan had gone to a shop at Anjuna to exchange some Turkish currency. Refusing to accept the Turkish currency, the shopkeeper told him that he only accepted dollars, euros and pounds,” said PI Naik.
He added further that McMullan then flew into a rage, pulled out a hammer from his bag and attacked the shopkeeper on his head. The shopkeeper was bleeding profusely and the police was alerted of the incident. “We took him into custody and we learnt that he was earlier convicted for a theft case in Mapusa,” said the Anjuna Police Inspector.
During interrogation, McMullan disclosed his involvement in several thefts at Anjuna, Vagator, and at Nerul. We managed to recover 3 laptops, 1 Tag Heuer watch costing around a lakh, one mobile phone, Apple Tabs, gold ornaments, 100 grams silver biscuits and 50 euros,’ said PI Naik.
According to police sources, McMullan admitted that his addiction to drugs and theft began about 10 years ago, while he was in the UK.
“At th time, McMullan was helping his girlfriend to overcome her drug addiction. He noticed that she would be in a state of euphoria after consuming drugs. Tempted, McMullan tried the drug one day and after experiencing the effect of drugs, he continued to consume it on a daily basis.”
“He always needed money to purchase drugs, so he got involved in thefts to earn quick money,” said a police source.
Mcmullan is presently in police custody at the Anjuna police station, as investigations are in progress.
