Mumbai: A 47-year-old habitual car thief, accused in 53 alleged four-wheeler theft cases across Maharashtra, was arrested from Thane by the Virar Crime Branch on Saturday.
The accused, Mohammad Taufeek Habibullah, a native of Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh, was residing in Palava City in Kalyan, Thane. He allegedly stole parked vehicles in seconds without setting off their alarm systems. Police also arrested Virendra Sitarambhai Sharma, 38, for allegedly purchasing a stolen vehicle from him.
The arrests follow the theft of a white Maruti Suzuki Swift stolen from near Tulip Deep Garden in Chheda Nagar, Nalasopara West between January 21 and January 23, 2026. A case was registered at Nalasopara police station under Section 303(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The Crime Branch launched a probe and with the help of CCTV footage and confidential inputs, officers traced and arrested Habibullah.
According to police, Habibullah used a sophisticated method to bypass security. He would break the co-driver side window with a hammer and enter the vehicle without opening the door, thereby avoiding alarm activation. He would then disconnect the system and create a duplicate key. The entire process allegedly took less than five minutes.
“We have arrested the accused and found that he has more than 53 cases of car thefts against him in the entire state. The accused robbed the car from one locality and sold it in the interiors of Maharashtra,” said an officer from the Virar Crime Branch.