Noida: Police have busted an interstate vehicle theft racket that has, till date, stolen around 60 luxury cars from showrooms and service centres to sell them in the northeastern states. Two men of the gang were arrested, an officer said.Additional DCP Manisha Singh said the gang followed meticulous procedure and exploited security loopholes, which made it difficult to track them down and nab them.The gang chose their target showrooms after multiple recces. Once selected, they conducted surveillance and studied the security arrangements of the showrooms. They would identify a time when the guard room — where the car keys are stored — was left unattended, sneak in and steal the keys.“Once they obtained the keys, they would steal the vehicles and quickly move them out of the region using their network in multiple different states,” Singh said.Jaydeep Malik, Sector 60 chowkidar in charge and the officer who led the operation against the gang, said, “The accused transported stolen vehicles through dealers operating near the Assam border before selling them in Mizoram and Tripura.”However, to stop police from tracing the stolen cars, the gang would tamper with the engine and chassis numbers.On Saturday, police arrested Neeraj Sharma and Ajay Sarkar, apprehended near Khargosh Park in Sector 54. An illegal country-made pistol and a live cartridge were recovered from Sharma’s possession.After their arrest, three vehicles — a modified Mahindra Thar, a Hyundai Creta and a Ford EcoSport — were seized. These cars had not been smuggled to the northeast yet.The Thar was stolen from outside the Concept Mahindra showroom in Sector 59 a day ago. The Creta was stolen from Delhi in 2023.Officials said further investigation is underway to identify other members of the network and trace additional stolen vehicles linked to the gang. Police are also examining the role of dealers and intermediaries involved in transporting and selling the stolen vehicles in the northeastern states.
