A 65-year-old man who runs a taxi business and had allegedly been stealing cars for two decades in order to replace parts in his taxis that needed repair, has been arrested by the property cell of the Mumbai crime branch. Police said after removing the parts he needed from the stolen cars, the accused sold them to scrap dealers.

During inquiry, police learnt there are 43 cases registered against the accused in Mumbai.

The accused has been identified as Mohammad Kamil Noor Mohammad Ansari, a resident of Nagpada area. He has a second residence at Dindoshi in Goregaon (East), police said. Ansari, who has been in the taxi business for four decades, owns four taxis. He hired drivers to drive his cars in two shifts, during day and night, a police official said.

“If any parts were damaged or needed repair in Ansari’s taxis, he never bought new ones. He stole private cars parked outside buildings or in parking areas using a master key. He took the stolen vehicle to an isolated place where he removed the parts he needed,” said police inspector Dheeraj Koli of the property cell. “After removing the parts, Ansari sold the cars to scrap dealers.” Cases over the same have been registered against him in Nagpada and several other police stations in western and eastern suburbs,” the officer said.

Ansari was caught after he stole a car from Matunga last month. He parked the car near his Dindoshi residence. He was arrested in Byculla.

The owner of the stolen car filed a case in Matunga police station and the property cell started inquiry. “As Ansari’s name is on record we immediately started looking for him. He was nabbed in Byculla area when he was heading to his Nagpada residence,” said Koli. The car was recovered because he could not get the chance to remove the tyres and sell it to scrap dealers, added official.

Ansari was handed over to Matunga police station on Friday for inquiry.

First Published: Feb 11, 2019 10:10 IST