ISLAMABAD: Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mohammad Ahsan Younas handed over keys of 46 recovered vehicles and 10 motorcycles to their owners at a ceremony held at the police line headquarters on Sunday.

The Anti-Vehicle Lifting Cell (AVLC) of the police had busted a gang by arresting six of its active members besides recovering stolen vehicles and motorbikes worth millions of rupees from their possession.

DIG Operations Malik Awais Ahmad and SSP Investigation Syed Ali Akbar Shah were also present on the occasion.

Abid Razaq said his car was stolen from G-13 after which he informed the police.

“Within two hours, I got a call from the police that my car had been recovered. I am really thankful to the police for the effort,” he said.

Chaudhry Sattar said his car was stolen from Supper Market on April 21, 2014, and finally recovered.

There were a number of people whose vehicles were stolen and taken out of the city. Police recovered the vehicles from different cities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and handed them over to the owners.

According to a statement, after assuming the charge, Mr Younas has provided extra manpower to the AVLC so that it can work in an efficient manner and curb car and bike lifting incidents. The AVLC evolved a strategy to check car theft and recover stolen vehicles.

The statement said the AVLC, led by Inspector Liaquat Ali Malik, carried out a raid and arrested six members of the gang. It said 46 stolen vehicles and 10 motorbikes were recovered from their possession.

The spokesman said the gang members used to roam in streets of posh sectors and lift vehicles. The arrested car lifters had been sent to jail by police in the past too.

The AVLC also recovered 20 other vehicles which were returned to their owners.

The IGP announced cash rewards and commendation certificates for the police team.

Published in Dawn, March 14th, 2022