Adilabad: Two members of an inter-State vehicle lifting gang were arrested in Echoda mandal centre on Monday. Four jeeps (Bolero), a car and two mobile phones were recovered from them. Another accused is absconding.
Utnoor DSP Uday Kumar Reddy said the accused were Shaik Samad Khan, an electrician and timber trader from Nizamabad district, Abdul Latheef, a scrap trader of Bahadurpura in Hyderabad. Hajrath Khan, a driver from Mumbai is still at large. The two were detained when they were found moving suspiciously during a vehicle check in Echoda mandal centre.
On being interrogated, the duo confessed to committing the offence to lead a lavish lifestyle. They admitted that they were stealing the jeeps, parked in front of houses in different parts of the district in the nights, using duplicate keys. They revealed that they were altering the body of the vehicles and selling them to Latheef.
Samad said that he was paying EMIs of his car with the help of the money he earned from disposing of the vehicles. He was booked by Nirmal Rural police for allegedly smuggling teak timber in 2019. He was released on bail and befriended Hajrath. He was travelling in the car to indulge in the crimes.
Superintendent of Police Vishnu S Warrier and Uday Reddy commended Echoda Inspector K Ravinder, Neradigonda Sub-Inspector B Suman, his counterpart from Echoda Suryaprakash, Sirikonda’s SI Krishna Kumar and their team members for chasing the mystery of vehicle lifting menace by arresting the two.
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