Noida Cops Bust Inter-State Gang That Stole Cars In 10 Minutes

Noida Police have arrested six members of a notorious tech-savvy inter-state gang involved in the theft of four-wheel vehicles, officials said on Monday.

The police revealed that the gang employed sophisticated methods to carry out the thefts and used key programming pads ordered online to reprogram the vehicle's ECM (Electronic Content Management) system.

This allowed the gang to generate new key modes to create duplicate keys and break into a car within 5 to 10 minutes, the police said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Noida) Ram Badan Singh said the operation, under the supervision of Additional DCP Manish Mishra and ACP (Noida-3) Shavya Goyal, resulted in the recovery of 10 stolen vehicles and various tools used in the thefts.

The arrests were made near Bharat Hospital on the FNG Road under the Sector 113 police station limits, he said.

"The gang members were held while they were on their way to lift more vehicles. During interrogation, we have got a lot of data from the gang. We will verify it and it could lead to the recovery of more vehicles," Singh said.

"Besides the 10 recovered cars, they have been involved in several other vehicle thefts. We will try to get them in our custody and crack those cases as well," he told reporters.

All six arrested members had a different role in the gang's work. Sonu is technically very sound and could hack the electric system of vehicles quickly. There is one who can make duplicate keys, and some involved in sales of the stolen vehicles, Singh said.

He said the gang would supply vehicles "on demand" and call their customer to Delhi NCR itself for the deals even though their clientele goes as far as Tamil Nadu, too.

The police identified those held as Khaleel, Monu Kumar, Sonu, Rajesh Kakkad alias Raja alias Raju, Ali Sher alias Imran alias Ali, and Pramod, who were caught with an assortment of stolen items.

These included 19 keys from different car companies, two clips, a wire cutter, a plier, three L-key lock breakers, four screwdrivers, a lock set, two key programming pads, two connecting cables, 12 number plates, and six fake registration certificates (RCs), the police said.

The police revealed that the gang operated across multiple states, including Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, and Maharashtra. They specialized in stealing four-wheel vehicles and selling them at various locations across the country.

"The arrested individuals are part of a cunning gang that is active in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and other states," a police spokesperson stated.

"They steal four-wheel vehicles from different regions and sell them at desired rates in various parts of the country," the spokesperson said.

After stealing the vehicles, the gang would remove the number plates and park the vehicles in safe or secluded places for two-three days. They were knowledgeable about vehicle mechanics and used fake documents and number plates to avoid detection while transporting the stolen vehicles, the police said.

Members of the gang would drive ahead to alert police about checkpoints, and in case of sudden police presence, they would pretend to fix a mechanical problem with the vehicle, they said.

All accused in the case have a history of multiple criminal cases in various states, according to an official statement.

For instance, Khaleel has multiple cases registered against him, including charges under the Gangster Act and various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) related to theft and fraud. Sonu also faces several charges in Delhi and Noida for theft and related crimes, while Monu Kumar has a long list of cases against him in Delhi and Haryana, it stated.

Among the recovered vehicles are a Toyota Fortuner, multiple Hyundai Creta cars, a Brezza, a Tata Sumo Gold, and several Maruti cars. The police also confiscated tools used for breaking locks and making duplicate keys, fake number plates, and forged registration certificates, it added.

The gang members have been booked on charges of theft, dishonestly receiving stolen property, assisting in the concealment of stolen property and using a false property mark, the police said, adding further legal proceedings are underway. 

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