And you’ll never guess where the head of the operation has been hiding out…
Back on December 17, Delhi Police said they busted a luxury car theft gang, putting an end to what sounds like quite the operation. Reportedly, the vehicles stolen out of Delhi were sold in Manipur, Indore, and other parts of India. As Americans who have watched similar things happen in this country, the story is relatable, but it gets even more interesting.
Learn why US authorities want a kill switch in all new cars here.
As we’ve suspected has been the case with a lot of car theft gangs in the US, police in India say the mastermind behind the whole operation was outside the country. They named Sharik Hussain as the kingpin, a man who has been living in Dubai where apparently police aren’t interested in his alleged crimes.
Local Indian men were arrested during the bust, so it would seem Hussain recruited these men to do his dirty work while he sat outside the country, profiting from their misdeeds. One man worked at a garage where he purchased totaled vehicles from insurance companies. From there, he would send out orders for the gang to steal the same make and model as the totaled cars, then would swap the VIN numbers.
All it took to bring the organization down was catching one of the thieves and interrogating him. We’re not sure why he cracked, but the guy spilled the beans, telling police about the whole operation. Authorities formed two police teams to track down and bust the gang. A local report indicated 21 luxury cars have been recovered from the operation, valued at about $671,000 USD.
One local commenter remarked that the problem is that prosecutors go easy on car thieves, so they can get out of jail, pay a small fine, and are back at it. That sounds familiar since many have pointed to prosecutors in different US cities treating criminals with kid gloves as part of the reason why car thefts have been skyrocketing.
Source: India Times
