Delhi Police Arrest 13 in Car Theft Syndicate Selling Stolen SUVs Online

The Delhi Police Crime Branch has dismantled a car theft ring, arresting 13 individuals involved in selling stolen vehicles to online platforms like CARS24 and CarDekho. Among the arrested are former employees of these companies, according to police reports. The group allegedly altered vehicle details to match legitimate cars before selling them.

Additional Commissioner of Police Crime Sanjay Bhatia explained that the syndicate modified engine and chassis numbers of stolen cars to align with those of similar models. They then sold these vehicles to online car-selling portals. "We have recovered 20 such SUVs including Mahindra Thar, Toyota Innova, and MG Hector," Bhatia stated.

Modus Operandi of the Syndicate

The gang's method involved stealing SUVs and finding genuine cars of the same model and colour. They created fake identification documents using genuine owners' names but with their photographs. Bank accounts were also opened under these names. Fake registration certificates were prepared, and engine and chassis numbers were engraved to match genuine cars.

One member would approach online portals to sell these altered vehicles. Since the registration numbers appeared legitimate, there was no record of theft. Over 40 stolen cars were sold using this technique, police revealed.

Arrests and Roles

The accused include Anwar Qureshi alias Haji Anwar alias Sahil, Mohd. Riyaz, Kishan Kumar, Shahzad Ahmad, Vikash Kumar Mishra, Shahil alias Shaeek, Mohd Altaf, Puru Singh, Jayant Kumar Jena, Kundan Giri, Noushad, Mohsin Khan, and Brajesh Kumar alias Sanjeev Kumar. Arrests were made across Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh.

Kundan and Brajesh are ex-employees of CARS24 while Vikas Mishra previously worked for CarDekho. Jayant showed vehicles to CARS24 executives; Mohsin acquired stolen cars from Pawan alias Andha and sold them to Puru and Noushad. Naushad further sold these through Puru Singh.

Background and Investigation

Kishan is a secondhand car dealer; Mohd Riyaz works at a private bank; Shahzad sourced stolen cars from Indore; Shahil and Altaf assisted in creating fake documents. During investigations, Anwar revealed that he started dealing in stolen vehicles with Shadab from Bijnor under Danish's guidance from Indore.

Anwar admitted they struggled to find regular buyers for stolen cars. This led them to explore selling through online portals as a viable option.