Car lifters' gang busted, 14 vehicles recovered

Delhi Police today claimed to have busted a gang of automobile robbers with the arrest of two of its key members and recovered 14 luxury cars from them.
They were using a high-tech scanner to erase the Engine Control Module of the vehicles. An ECM is considered the brain of a car, an electronic control unit that manages a series of actuators.
During interrogation, both the accused disclosed that they have stolen around 100-150 vehicles of different makes including Santa Fe, Fortuner, Innova, Bolero, I-20, Verna Fluidic, Swift, Chevrolet, Honda City etc., from Delhi, NCR, Haryana and Punjab.
The 14 recovered cars had their engine and chassis numbers tempered. The Hyundai Scanner and a laptop which was used by the gang have also been recovered.

The accused identified as Safruddin alias Safar (27) and Channpreet Singh alias Channi (39) were arrested by the Crime Branch of Delhi Police on May 7 from Majnu Ka Tila, Timarpur following a specific tip off.
"Following a spat of car robberies, Crime Branch was tasked to nab the criminals. Secret sources were deployed and regular watch was maintained over the auto-lifters of Delhi and NCR. On May 7 tip off was received that an auto-lifter gang would assemble at a parking in Majnu Ka Tila to sell some stolen vehicles," said Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ravindra Yadav.

A trap was laid and the duo was arrested along with a high-end SUV (Santa Fe) and Honda City. However, one receiver identified as Sariq alias Satta managed to flee from the spot.

"The gang used to enter a targeted car after opening rear door by breaking its window pane. The steering was unlocked by breaking ignition switch using a drill machine. They then used the scanner to erase Engine Control Module (ECM) memory and then the vehicle was driven away after ignition by direct connection," said Yadav.
The duo disclosed that Sariq used to procure Registration Certificate and Insurance Papers of 100 per cent damaged vehicles from Insurance/Finance companies. He would then tamper the Engine/ Chassis number of the stolen vehicles and sell the same in Kashmir and Assam by claiming the same as fraudulently financed vehicles.

The accused persons were taken on police remand.