Crackdown on Inter-state Truck Re-registration Scam in Nagpur

Five transporters in Nagpur were detained by police for being part of a gang involved in re-registering and selling stolen trucks across multiple states. The crime branch's Special Investigation Team recovered 16 stolen trucks and discovered the scam had been operational for a decade.

In a significant crackdown, Nagpur police arrested five transporters accused of being part of an inter-state racket involving the re-registration and sale of stolen trucks. The operation led to the recovery of 16 trucks, marking a substantial breakthrough in a decade-old scam, according to officials on Wednesday.

The suspects, all from Nagpur, allegedly manipulated registration records with the help of certain RTO staff to mask the identity of the stolen trucks by altering their chassis and engine numbers. This allowed them to resell the vehicles, originally registered in states like Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Nagaland, across India.

The investigation further revealed that truck owners, unable to pay their loan EMIs, were part of the fraudulent activities, falsely reporting vehicle thefts and moving the trucks to states like Nagaland for resale. Officials estimate the illicit operation involves crores of rupees, leading to significant financial losses for lending banks.