OUR CORRESPONDENT
Itanagar: In a decisive blow to an interstate vehicle theft syndicate, Itanagar police have recovered 16 more stolen vehicles, pushing the total number of recovered cars to an unprecedented 73.
Five suspects including four habitual offenders, have been arrested in the ongoing crackdown, which police say has exposed one of the most organised luxury car theft networks operating in India, a senior police official informed here on Thursday.
This milestone follows the July 28 recovery of 57 high-end cars valued at over Rs 30.5 crore, the largest single seizure of stolen vehicles by any police station in the country. That operation, which began on July 2, netted luxury models linked to theft cases registered in Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and other states. The Special Investigation Team (SIT), constituted by Capital Superintendent of Police (SP) Jummar Basar, has been spearheading the probe, Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Itanagar Kengo Dirchi informed.
Led by Dirchi and Itanagar police station officer-in-charge K Yangfo, the SIT used extensive technical surveillance, digital trail tracking, and simultaneous field raids to track down the stolen vehicles, the SDPO informed.
The syndicate primarily targeted expensive cars in Delhi-NCR and neighbouring states. Once stolen, the vehicles were handed over to brokers who tampered with engine and chassis numbers, forged registration documents, and arranged for their transport to Arunachal Pradesh, far from their original crime scenes, to evade detection.
Police have issued notices to individuals found in possession of suspected stolen cars and sent wireless messages to all station house officers (SHOs) nationwide, urging them to cross-check the recovered vehicles against missing or stolen vehicle records in their jurisdictions.
“We are committed to ensuring these vehicles are returned to their rightful owners,” SDPO Dirchi said, appealing to police stations across the country to verify the details and initiate legal proceedings for recovery claims.
Five additional vehicles are currently under verification, with authorities anticipating further seizures in the coming days, he added.
The recovery operations in Itanagar have not only disrupted the gang’s immediate activities but also provided crucial intelligence to law enforcement agencies nationwide, Dirchi said. “This case has shown how vehicle theft rings operate across state lines with alarming precision. It also highlights the importance of coordinated policing,” the SDPO added.
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