ISLAMABAD: It only takes car thieves around 35 minutes from when they break into a vehicle to drive it out of the city, according to officials from the Islamabad police.

Officials from the investigation wing, including the Criminal Investigation Agency and the Anti-Car Lifting Cell, said according to information gleaned through interrogations of people suspected of involvement in auto-theft, the main areas where vehicles are stolen are unattended car parks, markets and houses and streets near highways.

They said by the time the vehicle owner discovers that the vehicle has been stolen and informs the police, the vehicle has often reached a motorway or a national highway.

They said the thieves are aware of what routes to use to take a stolen vehicle out of the city and avoid Safe City cameras as well as how to avoid toll plazas on the way to a motorway or highway.

On their way out of the city, the thieves may also change the vehicle’s registration plates.

They could also use a shopping centre, hospital or markaz car parks to hide stolen the vehicles after changing the registration plate if they are unable to leave the city.

The officials said most of the vehicles stolen were either Toyotas or Suzukis, as these are the most popular kind of cars on the roads.

Thieves also prefer cars with weaker security systems, they said, adding it only takes a few minutes to break into such vehicles and hot-wire them.

As these cars are common, it is also easy for stolen vehicles to blend into traffic.

The police officials said Toyota vehicles are taken to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa while Suzukis are in greater demand in Kashmir, Murree, Mansehra and Abbottabad.

Some of the people who buy these stolen vehicles tamper with their engine and chassis numbers and then sell them on, while others tamper with the vehicles, make bogus documents and sell them.

The officials said such people change their location regularly. They said most of the stolen vehicles were sold in the tribal districts and areas where non-customs paid vehicles run on the roads unchecked.

Stolen vehicles are also dismantled and sold for parts.

The officials said the demand for stolen motorcycles had been falling because they were available at cheaper monthly installments. However, Honda 125 is still a target and is in high demand in Chaman Balochistan where it is taken via Dera Ghazi Khan.

They are also stolen for criminal activity or to be dismantled and sold for parts.

Published in Dawn, January 28th, 2020