Gang that stole high-end vehicles by hacking locks busted by Noida police
The sophisticated tools recovered from the possession of suspects indicate that the gang ran a large operation, mostly targeting high-end vehicles
The Noida police on Monday busted a gang of vehicle lifters who made off with high-end vehicles by hacking into their electronic locking system, senior police officers said, adding that the bust was made while investigating the theft case of a Fortuner Legender SUV that was stolen from outside a hotel in Noida’s Sector 122 last month.
According to Rambadan Singh, deputy commissioner of police, Noida, six people have been arrested and 10 stolen cars recovered from them, including the Fortuner Legender SUV worth ₹55 lakh.
The suspects were identified as Sonu (35) and Pramod (29) of Karnal; Monu Kumar (33) of Sambhal district; Kahlil (34) of Moradabad; Rajesh Kakkar alias Raja alias Raju (47) of Ludhiana; and Ali Asher alias Imran alias Ali (38) of Aurangabad.
“The gang was busted by a team from the Sector 113 police station. They were investigating a case of vehicle theft from Sector 122 that happened on June 20. The six suspects were held by the police on Monday from near Bharat Hospital in Sector 112, where the gang had gathered, allegedly to steal another high-end vehicle,” said the DCP.
Following the arrest, 10 four-wheelers, including the Fortuner Legender, Tata Sumo, four Hyundai Creta, Maruti Brezza, Maruti Ritz, Maruti Eeco and a Maruti Swift were recovered from the suspects, as well as tools used in vehicle lifting, including wire cutters, lock breakers and key programming pads.
“The sophisticated tools recovered from the possession of suspects indicate that the gang ran a large operation, mostly targeting high-end vehicles. Of the 10 vehicles recovered, only one was stolen from Noida, while the others were lifted from Delhi and Ghaziabad,” said the officer.
During interrogation, the arrested suspects revealed that they were part of a gang led by Sonu that steals four-wheelers from across the National Capital Region and other states and then sells them at high rates.
“The gang steals the cars by breaking the front side mirror and hacking into the car’s lock system. Using a key programming pad that they ordered online, they reprogram the ECM (electronic content module) system of the car -- also called the brain of the vehicle-- and generate a new key code for the car and then steal it. The whole process takes 5-10 minutes,” said the DCP, adding that the suspects also had equipment to make duplicate keys.
“The gang hid the stolen cars in a deserted place for two-three days and while they prepared forged documents and number plates for them. They sold the cars to buyers in Chandigarh, Chennai and other cities. They also have an informer network in place, to warn thieves of police presence when they move the car,” said Singh.
The operation was led by Sonu, who has studied till class eight and is good with electronics and mechanics, said the DCP.
“All suspects are repeat offenders who have been jailed earlier and are out on bail. Each of them has over 10 cases registered against them in various districts since 2017, while Sonu has over 20 cases registered against him. We are yet to ascertain how many more such vehicles they have stolen over the past seven years,” said the DCP.