Police bust car theft racket

“The accused would pretend to be customers and hire an SUV for long-distance trips. After crossing the city limits they would make the driver stop for a ‘tea break’ and add sleep-inducing tablets to the driver’s beverage,” said police inspector (Crime) Shailesh Pasalwar.

The three informers first led the police to Joseph,who agreed to be a part of the plan to nab Thevar. “We asked them to call Thevar and tell him about a brand new SUV that they had stolen. He was asked to inform the accused that they were stranded in Satara and had run out of money. An unsuspecting Thevar drove down to Satara from Chennai where we arrested him,” said Bhapkar.

Thevar revealed that he had sold several SUVs worth over Rs 10 lakh to two agents in Chennai for a paltry sum of Rs 1 to 1.5 lakh. “Taking him along we went to Chennai and learnt about a middle-man who would allegedly buy the vehicles and sell them to different parties. However,both the agents had fled by the time we reached. We have recovered two SUVs both stolen from Ratnagiri,” said Bhapkar.

The police brought back a witness from Chennai who allegedly knows how fake documents are procured to make the illegal vehicle deals appear legal.