Archives

22 vehicles worth Rs. 200 million stolen : Police bust massive vehicle racket, eight in custody

by Deepal Samarasekera

A massive vehicle fraud was uncovered by the Western Province North Police Anti Corruption Unit yesterday when they detected 22 vehicles worth more than Rs. 200 million which were hijacked and stolen from various parts of the country. They also took into custody eight suspects.

The vehicles included 14 vans, five cars, a truck and a double cab. Police extended their investigations to detect ten more vehicles which were hijacked and stolen by this gang.

The stolen vehicles include a Dolphin van belonging to an embassy in Colombo. This vehicle was taken into custody in the uncleared areas in the North, Police said. The gang had stolen the embassy vehicle with the support of a Sri Lankan working at the embassy and he is now abroad on a scholarship offered by the embassy, Police said.

Six persons who were in possession of these vehicles were also taken into custody for questioning by the Police. OIC of the Western Province North Anti Corruption Unit, Palitha Seneviratne said the gang had engaged in this vehicle racket for the past one and half years.

According to investigations, the gang had sold most of these hijacked and stolen vehicles to persons in uncleared areas in the North. These vehicles had been hijacked mostly from the areas in the districts of Colombo, Kandy, Galle, Matara, Kalutara and Gampaha. They have been sold to various persons in remote parts of the country after changing the registration, engine numbers and chassis numbers.

By the time of the detection, eight suspects were operating in three groups to hijack and steal vehicles from various parts of the country.

The modus operandi is to hire the vehicles and hijack them at pistol or knife point. They also steal vehicles stopped at various places after unlocking them using tools. This gang had also thrown chilli powder at drivers to hijack the vehicles and one such case was reported from the Kalutara area, Police said. The suspects taken into custody are residents of Kandy, Matara and Kadawatha areas.

The Police are also on the track of five more suspects connected with these operations and to detect the pistols and other sharp instruments they used to hijack the vehicles.

The raid was conducted by the OIC of the Western Province North Anti Corruption Unit, Palitha Seneviratne under the instructions and supervision of Western Province North DIG Pathmasiri Liyanage, Senior Superintendent of Police Kelaniya, Jagath Abeysirigunawardhana and Headquarters Inspector, Peliyagoda Police Priyalal Dassanayake.

News | Business | Features | Editorial | Security
Politics | World | Letters | Sports | Obituaries |

Produced by Lake House
Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Comments and suggestions to :Web Manager