CHENNAI: A special police team members posed as prospective buyers looking for second-hand bikes and arrested a bike thief at Madhavaram on Tuesday night.
Police said Navaneethakrishnan, 42, of Tamilpiriyan Street, went on a spree of stealing bikes during the lockdown period since April.
During the lockdown, complaints of bike thefts from Madhavaram bus terminus and areas like Puzhal and Red Hills poured in. Police formed a special team and collected CCTV camera footage.
Meanwhile, they received a tip that used bikes were being sold cheap in Lakshmipuram, Red Hills.
Posing as customers, the team members approached a man who directed them to the accused saying he had different bikes. Police caught the accused and found that he sold bikes to people in villages as they rarely asked for RC books. They readily agree if rates are anywhere between Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000. He had so far stolen 26 bikes from crowded market areas and sold most of them through his contacts. Police seized all the bikes from the accused. He has been remanded in judicial custody.