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40-yr-old car thief held from UP, four vehicles seized
The anti-vehicle theft unit of the Navi Mumbai crime branch arrested a 40-year-old man from Uttar Pradesh, who was part of a notorious gang stealing cars from the
The anti-vehicle theft unit of the Navi Mumbai crime branch arrested a 40-year-old man from Uttar Pradesh, who was part of a notorious gang stealing cars from the city. Police recovered four vehicles worth ~32 lakh from the man.
“We have arrested the accused, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, for the theft. Following the arrest, we have recovered four cars including two Swift Dzires, a Fortuner SUV and a WagonR,” said Shirish Pawar, senior inspector at anti-vehicle theft unit. The crime branch unit started the probe after a car belonging to a relative of a Mumbai-based police officer was stolen from his Kharghar residential society on November 13.
A few days later, an SUV was stolen from the same area. The police team traced the accused Mohammed Musa Ahmed alias Nankau to his native place in Uttar Pradesh.
Earlier, Ahmed was arrested in a robbery case in MIDC in Andheri (East) and was in jail till 2017. He has another car theft case registered in Andheri station and a rape case against him in Uttar Pradesh, said the police.
The gang has four members, including Ahmed, who joined them a few months as a driver. Ahmed, with the help of his accomplices, unlocked cars by either breaking windows or by using a device to hack the vehicles’ engine control module.
The thieves use the device to break into cars by unlocking it without breaking the windows. The police suspect the gang leader, whose identity is not disclosed, as he is at large, is proficient with the devices as he used to work at a garage. Police said he has more than 100 cases registered against him in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Karnataka.
The gang members would change the chassis number and the engine number of the stolen vehicles and register the vehicle under different documents.
After the vehicle was registered under a different number, they sold the cars for ₹40,000 to a lakh. Police said they looking for the other three members.
The gang has not stolen any cars since November 19, they added.
