ISLAMABAD: An official of Abbotabad Excise and Taxation Office (ETO) was arrested on charges of dealing in stolen vehicles, police said on Tuesday.

The accused is a constable at the excise office and was arrested by the capital’s Anti-Car Lifting Cell (ACLC) from Abbotabad and brought to Islamabad for further investigation.

Earlier, some auto-thieves arrested by the ACLC disclosed the identification of the accused during interrogation and said they and some other gangs used to sell stolen vehicles to him.

The ETO official was produced in the court of magistrate from where he was given in the police custody.

During preliminarily investigation the accused confessed to having been involved in the illegal practice for the last couple of months.

On the lead provided by him, three members of auto-thieve gang were also arrested by the ACLC and vehicles recovered from them. The ETO official would tamper with engine. chassis and registration numbers of the stolen vehicles.

The accused dealt with the auto-thieves active in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad and Northern Punjab and Lahore, the police added.

Published in Dawn, February 19th, 2020