The Palghar police claimed to have busted an inter-State four-wheeler theft racket with the arrest of seven people this weekend.
The accused allegedly stole 55 vehicles, mostly pick-up vans, an official said, adding that 27 vehicles worth about ₹1 crore were seized from them.
The modus operandi of the accused was to steal vehicles, change their engine and registration numbers and sell them at a lower price, District Superintendent of Police Gaurav Singh told reporters on Saturday evening. He said a special team was formed after the police received several complaints of four-wheeler thefts in the district.
The accused used to watch out for the vans during the day and steal them at night using duplicate keys. They took the vehicles to a garage in Bhiwandi, where they removed the original number plates and erased the engine and chassis numbers.
These were replaced with numbers and specifications of scrapped vehicles. The accused sold these vehicles at a lower price, Mr. Singh said.
During interrogation, the accused confessed to having stolen 51 pick-up/ towing vans from Palghar, one from Kapurbawdi in Thane, two from Valsad in Gujarat, and another vehicle from Dadra and Nagar Haveli. They had stolen parts of five parked vehicles and also made away with five stray cattle, the official said.
