Cyberabad Police in Hyderabad has arrested a 27-year old engineer for stealing vehicles and reselling them. The police caught him after the accused stole a Royal Enfield Desert Storm and went on a vacation to Ladakh. The Cyberabad Police nabbed him after he returned to the city after the vacation.

Identified as Gudati Mahesh Kumar, the person who stole Royal Enfield Desert Storm from Bangalore in 2020 went on a Ladakh trip this year. He planned the trip with five of his friends. After Gudati Mahesh Kumar returned from the trip, the Cyberbad Police arrested him within two days of his arrival.

The police team who nabbed Mahesh says that he is a travel enthusiast. He also plans to start a travel agency in the future. As per the police statement,

“Mahesh, a native of West Godavari from Andhra Pradesh loved travelling since childhood. After completing his graduation, he befriended people from different states and travelled to their places with them. However, his travel journey was a bit difficult as he did not have his own vehicle. Mahesh thought that his travelling would be easier if he owns a vehicle and started stealing identity cards and documents from his friends in private hostels and used them to hire cars from self-drive agencies.”

Mahesh hired the Royal Enfield from Bangalore and rode to Vishakapatnam. He gave the identity card of his friend to hire the bike. Later, he rode the same bike to Hyderbad and went to Ladakh along with five other friends for a total of 28 days.

Stealing vehicles after hiring them

Mahesh managed to dupe several people and stole their identities too. He used the identities of other people to hire vehicles from various companies. He used to say that he needs the vehicle to go on an out-of-state vacation. Mahesh used to hire vehicles and then used to sell them to unsuspecting buyers. Mahesh went undetected for several months.

He joined hostels and gained the trust of his roommates. Later, he stole the ID proofs of these people and used them to hire vehicles from the companies like Zoomcar, Drivezy, Revv and Royal Brothers.

After stealing the vehicle, Mahesh used tools to remove any kind of tracking devices or GPS-based location devices from the car. Shamshabad special operations team recovered as many as six four-wheelers and one two-wheeler. All these vehicles were rented and Mahesh had sold many of such cars. The recovery of the vehicles made by the cops is around Rs 70 lakh.

The cops began an investigation after a complaint filed by Zoomcar. The manager of the Zoomcar filed a complaint against Mahesh for removing the GPS device and not returning the rented vehicle on time.

Mahesh also removed the original number plates and replaced them with fake ones. He then sold these vehicles at cheaper prices to unsuspecting customers. Mahesh was working as a mobile technician at Malakpet where he committed his first crime. He was arrested after a case of mobile theft in 2016.