A delivery of diamonds and gold, costing worth over Rs 5 crore, was stolen on Friday in broad daylight in the city’s western suburb, Borivali.

The burglary was premeditated by the driver carrying the delivery. The theft was carried out by five men carrying weapons, the Kasturba Marg police said, adding the thieves deserted the van in Virar.

Uday Thakur, who was driving the van, is a history sheeter who had spent two years behind bars in 2002 for cases as serious as robbery and murder, police stated. According to the complaint, four employees of S R Security Agency arrived at Borivali Railway Station from Surat carrying 3.5 kg gold and diamonds weighing 860 gm.

The delivery belonged to Malka Amit J K Logistics, which had hired S R Security to deliver its goods, and this particular consignment was to be delivered to the firm's branch at the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC).

According to police sources the four were picked up at the railway station by their partner Thakur, who stopped the vehicle near the Borivali National Park in around 3.45 pm citing a tyre puncture.

"Those in the van insisted that Thakur shouldn't halt on a crowded road but he didn't listen to them," Senior Inspector Bharat Worlikar from Kasturba Marg Police Station said.

According to the complaint, as soon as Thakur got out of the vehicle, five men carrying pistols and knives barged in and tied up the passengers, after which Thakur drove all of them to Virar.

The complaint said the vehicle was abandoned off Vajreshwari Road in Virar around 5 pm, and Thakur's colleagues were rescued by passersby who were alerted by the noises from the vehicle. "The heist took place near a traffic police outpost in Borivali and we will question the cops on duty," Worlikar said.