Gang involved in ‘vehicle lifting for ransom’ busted

Mastermind would offer help to owner in vehicle recovery in return for money: Police

KARACHI:

The Anti-Vehicle Lifting Cell (AVLC) on Saturday arrested a gang of car thieves who would allegedly steal vehicles and then demand ransom from their owners.

They also recovered two vehicles parked outside a playground near Baitul Mukarram in the Gulshan-e-Iqbal area during the early morning raid.

AVLC Senior Superintendent of Police Anwar Khetran said that the mastermind was a youth who would pretend to be a mechanic and conduct reconnaissance. The youth, identified as Asif, would the carve out a key for the vehicle that he would steal from the mechanic's shop.

He would then track down the vehicle owner through its registration detail available online on the Excise Department’s website and tell them that he had spotted their vehicle. He would offer to provide its exact location in return for a certain amount - anywhere between Rs100,000 to Rs250,000.

He would send proof of the vehicle to the owner as well. Asif told police that he had been doing this for two years.

In one such instance, he sent a picture to the car owner which revealed his location, said Khetran. The car owner informed the police after which they traced his cell phone number.

The suspect, who is in AVLC custody, has confessed to stealing five cars, said Khetran, with two of the vehicles recovered during the early morning raid. One is a Honda City and the other is a Suzuki Cultus.

Khetran said that Asif would sell the parts of the vehicles if the owner refused to pay the ransom. He made half a million rupees by selling parts of the three vehicles.

"Two of his accomplices have also been arrested. They would purchase spare parts from him," he added.

Asif has been named in two car theft cases - registered at the Aziz Bhatti and Taimuria police stations.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, February 5^th, 2023.