Car thieves nabbed

KOTTAYAM: The Kottayam police have busted a car lifting network by arresting two persons who had stolen four cars from town.
Ismail, 27, of Perrakkapalli house, Muvattupuzha and his accomplice Remya, 30, were nabbed during vehicle search on Thursday night by Kottayam West CI A J Thomas and SI Tomy Sebastian.
The search was conducted on the directives of SP C Rajagopal. The four cars stolen by the duo have been recovered.
Ismail, who is married, allegedly used Remya as cover during the car lifting operations to avoid suspicion, Kottayam West CI A J Thomas said.
Ismail and Remya would dress expensively and go in search of cars. The couple used to carry out the operations during night, Thomas said.
Ismail had a master key which was used to open the stolen cars. Low budget cars of a particular make was preferred, as there was little risk of the loser pursuing the matter seriously, the police said. Ismail sold the stolen cars at places like Muvattupuzha, Erattupetta, Kanjirapally and Gandhinagar. Ismail had previously served jail term in ganja case. Remya also has a shady background.
The incidents of car lifting had increased recently in Kottayam town, which had made the police doubly alert.