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Int’l car theft ring: Moradabad police bust racket linked to Sambhal violence ‘main conspirator’
Three members of the syndicate were arrested early on Saturday morning, along with seven luxury vehicles valued at crores of rupees
Moradabad police have dismantled a key operation of an international auto-lifting gang masterminded by Shariq Satha, the alleged orchestrator of last year’s Sambhal violence. Three members of the syndicate were arrested early on Saturday morning, along with seven luxury vehicles valued at crores of rupees, forged documents, and fake number plates.
Senior superintendent of police (city), Kumar Ranvijay Singh, described the gang as a sophisticated “international vehicle mafia” during a press briefing. “This is an international vehicle mafia whose mastermind is Shariq Satha, r/o Sambhal,” Singh stated. “He is probably hiding in Dubai and operates from there. He has hired some automobile lifters, receivers, and appointed some people for documentation... Auto lifting and delivery are done on demand.” Singh added that the arrests mark a major breakthrough in disrupting a network that spans multiple states and international borders.
The operation unfolded overnight on September 19, when officers from Majhola police station intercepted the suspects in Moradabad. The arrested individuals—Gagan Gautam, son of Chhotelal, from Chiraavda village in Palwal, Haryana; Rajkumar alias Raju,
son of Omprakash, originally from Aligarh but residing in Palwal, Haryana; and Yunus, son of Yusuf, from Murilipura in Jaipur, Rajasthan—were caught red-handed with the stolen fleet. Two other accomplices, Mahfuz from Islamnagar in Moradabad and Aman Thakur
from Ekta Colony in Moradabad, fled the scene and remain at large, with police issuing alerts for their capture.
Interrogations revealed a meticulously planned modus operandi designed to evade detection. The five-member gang targeted premium vehicles in urban hotspots, primarily in Delhi and its suburbs. Once stolen, the cars underwent rapid modifications: electronic coding systems
were tampered with to disable tracking devices, original number plates were discarded, and counterfeit ones affixed using forged registration certificates (RCs). The vehicles were then stashed in remote locations before being offloaded to buyers at inflated prices, with profits split among the crew.
“This gang operated on demand, lifting specific models as per client orders,” Singh explained. “Shariq Satha, from his base in Dubai, coordinated the entire supply chain, including lifters, document forgers, and receivers.”
Among the recovered vehicles—most of them brand-new models with missing complaints already filed—were: a white Hyundai Creta (fake registration: HP 24 E 5196), stolen from Indra Nagar, Delhi, on September 3, a white Toyota Fortuner (fake registration: DL10 CP 4352), taken from Mayur Enclave, Delhi, on September 11, a white Hyundai Aura (no number plate), a black Mahindra Scorpio N (fake registration: HP 24 E 4845), lifted from Pitampura, Delhi, on July 5, white Hyundai i20 (fake registration: UK18 H 5077), white Hyundai Alcazar (fake registration: HP 24 E 4511), stolen from Rohini, Delhi, on June 26, another black Mahindra Scorpio N (fake registration: HP 24 E 4844), taken near Delhi Jal Board flats on September 1.
Six of the cars were pilfered from Delhi, while one originated from Sahibabad in Ghaziabad. Police also seized keys to the vehicles and confirmed that, on Mahfuz’s instructions, the haul had been concealed in an open plot behind the Laban Hotel in Moradabad.
Owners of the recovered cars have been notified, and missing reports are being reconciled as part of the ongoing probe.
Shariq Satha’s name has surfaced repeatedly in Uttar Pradesh law enforcement circles, particularly following the Sambhal violence earlier this year, where he was identified as a key figure behind the unrest. Believed to have fled to Dubai to evade arrest, Satha allegedly
uses his overseas perch to direct a web of illicit activities, including vehicle smuggling.
On November 24, clashes erupted near the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal during a court-ordered survey of the 16th-century mosque, which left four people dead and several others, including policemen, injured.
“Further investigations are underway to trace the absconding accused and to dismantle the wider network involved in vehicle theft,” Singh affirmed. Authorities are collaborating with Haryana, Rajasthan, and Delhi police to map out additional connections, while Interpol liaisons may be activated to pursue Satha.
