Keonjhar: Police have busted a gang of juvenile looters involved in cases of snatching and theft in the district.

With the arrest of two juvenile delinquents from the Anandpur police limits, the cops have stumbled upon a well-knit gang of these lawbreakers.

Though teenagers executed the crimes, it used to be masterminded by a gang of veteran criminals.

The duo fell into the cop net on Monday while they successfully broke open the dickey of a scooty at a marketplace in Anandpur town and tried to decamp with a gold chain and Rs 5,000 cash.

But, local people caught hold of them and handed them over to the police.

"The stolen articles, apart from two mobile phones, have been retrieved from their possession," said sub-divisional police officer Maheswar Sethy.

"The arrested juveniles later spilled the beans and revealed that they had resorted to commit snatching, theft and burglaries at the behest of a gang of criminals. They used to hand over the stolen articles and cash to the mastermind of the gang. In return, they were given away the shares of the booty," said a police official.

Following electronic tracking of their mobile phones, it has come to light that the racket has spread its network across the district.

At least two more juveniles are believed to be on the job in committing thefts, burglaries and snatching in the Keonjhar, Barbil and Joda township areas.

A manhunt is on to nab the mastermind of the gang, the police said.