Five men, charged in a bitumen larceny case, are being tried at the Wangdue Phodrang District Court.
The men, aged 18 to 26, stand accused of having stolen bitumen worth over Nu 666,000 from Khelekha in Wangdue Phodrang in September last year.
Police arrested the suspects from Wangdue Chuzomsa in the same month. The stolen bitumen drums were recovered from Taba in Thimphu.
The prime suspect is charged with larceny and other four with aiding and abetting.
At the evidence hearing yesterday, the Office of Attorney General (OAG) submitted to the court the confessional statements of the accused and other evidence.
Of the five men, one is thought to be the prime suspect. He is said to have hired the other four to help him steal bitumen from a private construction company. He had paid the men Nu 500 for every trip.
Police caught the men red-handed on their fourth trip.
The construction company claims to have lost about 162 drums of bitumen. The OAG says the suspects have confessed to have stolen 109 drums only.
The OAG forwarded the case to Wangdue Phodrang District Court in January this year.
