Grand theft auto: Two men arrested for stealing cars

16 vehicles worth Rs8m recovered.

LAHORE:

Two wanted car thieves have been arrested and 16 stolen vehicles worth over Rs8 million have been recovered from them, according to the Cantonment Division Anti Vehicle Lifting Staff (AVLS).

Adnan and Waseem, said to be the ringleaders of the ‘Adnan Dhakkan gang’, were stopped at a picket set up by the AVLS near National Bank of Pakistan Park in Gulberg on Wednesday. They were travelling in a Suzuki Mehran which, the policemen found, was carrying false registration plates. The car had been reported stolen in an FIR registered at Kot Lakhpat police station.

During interrogation, the two men admitted to stealing 22 cars from Lahore, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Sheikhupura and Nankana Sahib. They would steal parked cars using master keys. They would sell the stolen cars in other districts in the Punjab or in the Tribal Areas.

Police officials said that they had recovered 16 stolen vehicles. Three Toyota Corolla cars, three Honda City, two Suzuki Cultus, one Honda Civic, four Suzuki Mehran, one Suzuki Khyber, one Suzuki ‘carry dabba’ van and one Nissan Cuore – worth around Rs8.08 million from the suspects.

Police officials said that Adnan and Waseem were wanted in 16 cases registered at police stations in Lahore, including Kot Lakhpat, Ghalib Market, Iqbal Town, Islampura, Model Town, Faisal Town, Garden Town, Mozang, Gulshan Ravi, Shalimar, Iqbal Town and Sattokatla. They said that they were looking for cases against them at police stations in Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Sheikhupura and Nankana Sahib.

Investigation DIG Chaudhry Shafiq Ahmed has announced cash awards for the team that conducted the arrests.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 16^th, 2012.