The trail of a stolen pick-up van helped the Perumbavoor police net a three-member robber gang from Tamil Nadu, which was allegedly involved in numerous cases across the country.
The arrested were identified as Sheik Muhammed Hussain, 62, of Coimbatore and his aides Damodaran aka Raja, 29, also of Coimbatore, and Farooq, 40, of Mettupalayam.
A special investigation team formed by Perumbavoor Station House Officer P.A. Faisal had been probing the theft of the van from Mudikkal in Perumbavoor on December 3. Rummaging through the footage of CCTV cameras at highways, check-posts and toll booths helped the team to trace the vehicle to Coimbatore. The team camped in Coimbatore and carried out the investigation with the help of the local police for over a week, which led them to Hussain, who according to the police, was a notorious inter-State automobile thief.
His interrogation further led the investigation team to his aides. Finally, the stolen van was traced back to a demolition centre at Mettupalayam where it was found in partly pulled down state.
According to the police, the accused went by the nick names “lifter”, “receiver” and “breaker” indicating their respective roles in the theft. The money made from the stolen vehicles was shared among them based on their roles.
The lifter’s role was to roam around across States and steal vehicles found parked along secluded stretches.
He passed it on to the receiver who either changed its design beyond recognition for continued use or passed it on to the breaker if the decision was to dismantle it and sell the spare parts.
It was for the breaker to disassemble the vehicle and raise the money through the sale of its spare parts.
The sale would be wrapped up anywhere between a day to a week, depending on the demand for the spare parts.
The police said that Hussain had 30 cases, including a murder, against his name in Mumbai alone and more than 150 cases, including for theft, across the country. The police remain hopeful of cracking numerous vehicle theft cases in the State with his arrest.
The team led by sub inspector Stepto John, assistant sub inspectors Rajendran and Vinod made the arrests.
