The property cell of the Mumbai police has busted an interstate gang of car thieves and seized three cars from them. According to the crime branch, the accused only stole Maruti Eeco cars and later sold them outside of Maharashtra. With their arrest, the police has claimed to have solved at least seven cases of thefts.
There had been a surge reported after the lockdown was lifted around June. Following the surge, we focused on car thieves on our record, said an officer.
Acting on a specific tip-off, they arrested Nafis Shaukat Ali Khan, 23, a resident of Wadala on Saturday and seized one car while another two vehicles were seized from Tafsir Shaikh, 22, and Rumil Soni, 30. Soni used to sell the cars in Gujarat, said police.
According to the police, Khan steals vehicles and gives them to Tafsir outside Mumbai near check naka. He then drives the car to Navsari in Gujarat, where it would be handed over to Soni. The vehicles were later used for illegal activities like liquor and drugs transportation, said the police.
Khan was an expert car thief and could steal cars in matter of minutes, said the police. He usually removes the entire lock from the back door of the car. Later, with the help of the lock, he used to make a duplicate key to steal the car, said the police.
Since the last week of November, the property cell has arrested eight persons and seized four cars and three bikes.
