India's biggest vehicle thief arrested, stole 5,000 cars

New Delhi: After spending over three months searching for him, Delhi police arrested Anil Chauhan, one of India's biggest automobile thieves who reportedly stole over 5,000 cars.

Police said that arresting Chauhan who was previously detained was not a simple task.

Acting on a tip off that Chauhan was in Delhi planning more thefts, police arrested him from DBG road with a bike and a pistol, and five more pistols were found in his possession, The Indian Express reported.

Chauhan lived in a fancy villa worth Rs 10 crore and wore expensive clothes and ornaments, according to the report.

He travelled back and forth between North Eastern states and Delhi on flights to operate thievery.

Helped by 25-30 associates, the 52-year-old sold stolen cars in Gangtok, parts of Assam, Nepal and other places.

Inspector Sandeep Godara and a team of officers that probed thefts of luxury SUVs and sedans in Central Delhi suspected Chauhan's hands.

Indian Express quoted an officer as saying that Chauhan posed as a business man, roaming around always in expensive cars, evading police.

The officer added that Chauhan was a contractor working with the Assam government and has sources there.

Aside from vehicle theft he is accused of, Chauhan over the last two decades poached rare animals like rhinos for their horns, police said.

Chauhan who was declared a proclaimed offender by the court involved in over 181 cases alongside allegedly smuggling illegal weapons with his cars.

The officer added that Chauhan, whose villa and other assets that the ED seized, never stops stealing cars, despite being arrested several times.

The cars he stole from Delhi, Noida and Meerut have buyers in Assam, Nepal and Gangtok.

Chauhan had three wives and seven children, who left him after the ED raids and arrest, according to the report.

Two wives claimed they had no knowledge of his criminal activities and thought he was a car dealer.