Arunachal: Transport department official arrested in luxury vehicle smuggling racket

A transport department official was arrested here in the multi-crore inter-state luxury vehicle smuggling racket that was busted in July this year, police said on Sunday.

Papum Pare District Transport Officer (DTO) Yajum Lombi Yumlam, presently posted at Yupia, was arrested from her residence in Itanagar on Saturday, for her role in facilitating illegal registration of stolen vehicles, Itanagar Capital Region Deputy Superintendent of Police Kengo Dirchi said.

Earlier, the police had arrested Charu Akey, a data entry operator at DTO, Palin, in Kurung Kumey district, for his involvement in the case on August 27.

So far, 11 people, including two government officials, have been arrested and 75 high-end luxury vehicles have been seized by a special investigation team (SIT) led by Deputy Superintendent of Police Kengo Dirchi, the official said.

Police said over 80 individuals have also been served notices under Section 36 (3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, to join the investigation.

The racket, unearthed in July, involved at least 57 luxury vehicles valued at over Rs 30.5 crore. These vehicles were allegedly stolen from Delhi-NCR and other parts of north India and transported to Arunachal Pradesh using forged documents.

Following a suo motu FIR, police launched a state-wide crackdown on July 2, leading to the recovery of several vehicles from the Itanagar Capital Region.

All the recovered vehicles were found to be blacklisted and linked to FIRs registered in Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and other states.

Preliminary probe suggests the gang employed brokers to tamper with engine and chassis numbers before generating forged registration papers. The vehicles were then sold at discounted prices in various parts of the state.

Investigators are also examining possible international financial links and digital money trails associated with the racket, police said.