The Azad Maidan police have arrested three people for allegedly stealing cars and selling them after substituting their number plates with those of vehicles damaged in accidents.
According to the police, the trio has been identified as Hafizul Jaffri (40), Shameem Ansari (36), and Sannam Khan (22). The men were running the racket out of a garage in Mumbra owned by Mr. Jaffri, where the other two accused work as mechanics, the police said.
Explaining the modus operandi of the accused, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone I) Dr. Manoj Kumar Sharma said, “They would buy cars damaged in accidents as scrap from insurance companies. They would steal vehicles of the same make, model and colour as the damaged vehicles and swap the number plates, engine numbers and chassis numbers. The stolen vehicles would then be sold to new customers.”
Mr. Sharma said the three were arrested on May 18 after officers with the Azad Maidan police station received a tip-off about the racket. The police recovered a Scorpio, an Accent and two Dzire cars from them. “All the four cars were stolen. Complaints had been registered regarding their theft with the Mulund, MIDC, Belapur and Kalamboli police stations in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai,” Mr. Sharma said.
The police suspect that some more people may be involved in the racket, and efforts are under way to identify and apprehend them, officers said.
