Rangers, police recover record 51 stolen cars in Karachi

Naimat Khan

KARACHI: The paramilitary Rangers and Police have jointly busted a group of car lifters and recovered 51 stolen cars, which is a record recovery, it emerged on Saturday.

Addressing a news conference along with Senior Superintendent Police (SSP) East Irfan Baloch, Sector Commander Sachal Rangers Brigadier Naseem told that the stolen car would be used in criminal activities across Pakistan.

“The Rangers and Sindh Police had initially arrested two suspects in a joint operation in Nazimabad. They recovered a huge amount of illegal weapons and a stolen car from the nabbed criminals,” he informed reporters.

After further investigation, Brigadier Naseem informed, it was found out that the two were part of a group involved in the selling of stolen cars in different parts of Pakistan.

“It was the biggest ever car recovery operation in the country’s history in which 51 cars were recovered and returned to their owners in record time. Most of the cars were various models of Toyota,” he said.

The operation was conducted after the instructions of DG Rangers Sindh by a team of Rangers and Sindh Police personnel, he informed.

The police and Rangers arrested two individuals — Qazi Muneeb Ahmed Siddiqui and Mohammad Shiraz — with weapons and a stolen vehicle during snap checking in Nazimabad a few days ago.

During the operation, it was revealed that “a group is stealing a large number of vehicles and sending them to other parts of the country,” he said. While the real owners are being deprived of their vehicles, the new buyers are also unaware that they are stolen, he added.

Naseem informed the media that a total of 16 people were arrested during the operation which has been going on for around six months. While 10 of those arrested have been released, others are being kept in detention for further investigation, he said.

A total of 86 cases of stolen vehicles have been registered in the province, of which 51 vehicles have been recovered. The vehicles will be handed over to the real owners following legal procedure and court orders, he said.