IMPHAL, April 17: Manipur police have claimed to have dismantled an inter-state vehicle lifting gang after recovering 15 stolen vehicles in a series of special drives across the state. The operations were carried out at various suspected locations in the sensitive border region, where 9 four-wheelers and 6 two-wheelers were successfully retrieved.

Reports from the police on Thursday indicated that the crackdowns were part of a focused effort to recover stolen or snatched vehicles from anti-social elements. However, the police did not provide any details about the arrest of the vehicle lifters, stating that the involvement and apprehension of the suspects are still in the early stages of investigation.

As part of these crackdowns, a follow-up operation in the last week of March led to the recovery of five stolen vehicles, including 3 four-wheelers and 2 two-wheelers, in the Lilong areas of Thoubal district. Authorities have also stated that it is likely that an inter-state vehicle lifting gang is involved in several related cases in the region.

This follows a similar operation in Assam in mid-March, where the police arrested 11 members of a motorcycle theft gang operating between Assam and Manipur. During that operation, 13 stolen motorcycles and three cars were recovered, with the bikes intended to be transported to Manipur.

Manipur police confirmed that further investigations are underway regarding the recovery of these stolen vehicles. In the meantime, authorities have appealed to the public to contact the relevant police stations if they believe their vehicles may have been stolen in the recent crackdowns.