Tech-savvy car thieves held in Valsad

SURAT: Police arrested four members of a gang of thieves on Wednesday who had stolen a number of cars from different parts of south Gujarat and Mumbai using sophisticated equipment. The burglars, experts in stealing cars with computerized engine controls, used to replace their engine and body control modules. So far, police have detected thefts of eight cars from Vapi and Surat city, but suspect that the gang is involved in many more.
Manoj Kumar Rajendra Gupta (32), a resident of Mumbai; Mohammad Faiz Akbar Shaikh (43), a resident of Palghar in Maharashtra; Kasim Moiyuddin Mewat (30) and Taj Mohommad Asgarali Chaudhary (32), both residents of Bhilad, were produced in a local court, which remanded them in police custody until March 7. The accused are natives of Uttar Pradesh. One accused Raju, a resident of Silvassa, who used to be the gang’s tipper, escaped from the spot.
Police nabbed the gang from near Karwad village canal on Vapi Nana Pondha road on receiving a tip- off. The gang members were preparing to carry out a theft after parking their car on the roadside.
Police recovered an engine control module (ECM), a body control module (BCM), an electronic screw driver, key sets and other equipment from the gang. The accused kept the car parts to replace them in a computerized car.
“We have recovered sophisticated weapons from the gang. We found during investigation that the gang members stole new cars that had computerized engine operation and could not be stolen with a duplicate key. The accused are not cooperating with the police in the investigation. We suspect that they are involved in many more car thefts,” superintendent of police, Valsad, Sunil Joshi said.
by Yagnesh Bharat Mehta via Surat News, Latest Surat News Headlines & Live Updates - Times of India