Delhi Police Busts Interstate Auto Theft Racket; 4 Arrested, 21 Luxury Cars Recovered

Investigators observed that the gang operated with precision, primarily targeting high-end vehicles during late-night hours, especially around midnight.

An interstate auto-lifting racket was busted by the Delhi Police Crime Branch. During the operation, four Punjab-based receivers were arrested and 21 high-end vehicles recovered, including Fortuners, Cretas, and Thars, all bearing fake number plates, tampered chassis, forged registration certificates and engine numbers, police said Tuesday.

As per the Indian Express report, Police said the crackdown comes after weeks of surveillance and pattern analysis. Investigators observed that the gang operated with precision, primarily targeting high-end vehicles during late-night hours, especially around midnight. These cars were swiftly stolen and transported to Punjab, with a focus on border regions.

On May 7, acting on a tip-off, police intercepted a stolen blue Baleno on the DND Flyway, headed toward the KMP Expressway. The car had fake license plates and had been reported missing from the Saket area of South Delhi.

The occupants identified as Avtar Singh (40) and Harpreet Singh (32) were nabbed, cops seizing a counterfeit registration certificate, said police.

During interrogation, both the man confessed to being long-time handlers of stolen vehicles, further revealing that they used to sell across Amritsar and Ludhiana after modifying the cars and forging documents.

They also disclosed the identities of their suppliers and admitted to their role in 15 to 20 such transactions. Police secured a 10-day remand for further investigation, which led to raids in Punjab’s Amritsar and Tarn Taran districts. These efforts resulted in the arrest of two more individuals identified a Paramdeep from Ludhiana and Manpreet from Ferozepur.

Police further added that their investigation disclosed a consistent modus operandi that purchased stolen high-end vehicles for Rs 4-5 lakh each after generating fake registration papers, changing the identification numbers, and reselling the cars as genuine across Punjab.

Property Dealer Turns To Vegetable Seller

Further investigation uncovered that the suspects came from diverse professional backgrounds. Avtar Singh, once a property dealer who later sold vegetables, had a prior arrest in Amritsar and was connected to more than 10 stolen vehicles.

Harpreet Singh, who holds a BCA degree and previously worked as a pig farmer in Cyprus, turned to stealing cars after returning to India. Paramdeep, who formerly owned an auto parts manufacturing unit, entered the stolen car trade after his business collapsed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Another accused, Manpreet, a civil engineer who also worked as a driver, had two prior arrests and is currently undergoing a divorce.

The stolen vehicles traced to this group were linked to numerous police stations across Delhi and surrounding areas, including Saket, Shalimar Bagh, Tilak Nagar, Khyala, Dwarka, Keshav Puram, Vasant Vihar, as well as Ghaziabad and Gurgaon.