Mira-Bhayandar: Less than 24-hours after they drove away with a truck valued at Rs 38 lakh from the Ghodbunder area of Kashimira, the three thieves were caught by a team from the crime branch unit (Zone I) attached to the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) police after a hot chase on Wednesday.

The trio who have been identified as-Shamim Shahabuddin (31), Maqsood Amin (37) and Mohammed Arif Rashid (24)- hailing from Rajasthan, Uttar-Pradesh and Haryana respectively. According to the police the trio stole the truck at around 6 am on 4, March.

Following a complaint registered at the Kashigaon police station by the truck owner-Rohan Pathan (62), an offence under section 303(2) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita for theft was registered against the thieves.

The crime branch unit was immediately roped in to conduct parallel investigations and track the culprits. Apart from keeping a tab on vehicles passing the toll collection centers, a team led by police inspector-Pramod Badhakh examined footages captured by the closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras in the vicinity of the theft spot and possible getaway routes.

They found that the truck was moving towards Gujarat. The team immediately headed in the same direction and managed to overtake and stop the truck in Valsad (Gujarat) after a hot highway pursuit.

The trio turned out to be notorious inter-state criminals who were involved in a spate of serious offences including dacoity and vehicle lifting committed by them in Mathura (Uttar Pradesh) and Alwar (Rajasthan). The truck has been seized and the custody of the trio handed over to the Kashigaon police station for further investigations, said an official.