Police issue warning as gang is arrested in Sharjah for stealing cars

Sharjah: Residents are urged not to leave their vehicles outside their homes when travelling abroad as they are prone to become victims of car theft.

The statement came in the wake of the arrest of a 12-member gang by Sharjah Police for stealing vehicles parked in residential areas, and then selling them as scrap and for spare parts.

"Vehicles that are parked for a long term are the most susceptible to being stolen.

"The stolen vehicles were either old ones with an expired registration, or vehicles parked outside homes while the owners were away on holiday," said a senior official at Sharjah Police.

The gang comprised Arab and Asian men who worked at eight auto workshops and car recovery car companies in Sharjah.

The arrests came after 48 people lodged complaints that their vehicles had been stolen in the past month.

Caught red-handed

Police were able to apprehend the gang after they caught a member red-handed as he tried to steal a vehicle.

After the Criminal Investigation Department at Sharjah Police interrogated the suspect, he confessed that he was affiliated with a gang that specialised in stealing vehicles, who then transported them to an auto workshop in the industrial area of Sharjah.

The gang would then dismantle the vehicle and sell it as spare parts or as scrap to other workshops in the industrial area.

The suspect then led police to the other gang members, who all confessed to stealing the vehicles. They also pinpointed the locations where all the crimes took place.

When police raided the workshop where the vehicles were dismantled, they also discovered a large number of stolen licence plates and keys, in addition to personal belongings of the victims.

The case has been transferred to Sharjah Public Prosecution.