New Delhi, Mar 5 (IANS): After being on the run for the past 25 years, the most wanted vehicle thief in Delhi-NCR has finally been arrested by the Delhi Police, an official said here on Saturday.

The accused, identified as Intezar (42), a resident of Meerut, was arrested along with his accomplice Aasif (37).

Furnishing details, DCP Shweta Chauhan said that Intezar was earlier caught once in 2014 after which was never arrested.

"In November 2020, Intezar deliberately hit police barricades to avoid his arrest in the New Friend's Colony area. A case was registered but he managed to get anticipatory bail from the court due to the Covid-19 pandemic," the DCP said.

Intezar used to carry illegal weapons with him to commit crime and to avoid public interference. His associate Aasif is an expert in hacking any car key programming system and can make a duplicate key of any car.

The DCP said that in view of the recent incidents of car theft in Delhi-NCR, a team was constituted which took eight months to identify their hideout and their car which was being used by them to commit theft.

On February 26, a tip-off was received about the presence of the both the accused, after which the police laid a trap and nabbed them from the specified spot.

"Two loaded country-made pistols along with four live cartridges were recovered from their possession," said the DCP.

During interrogation, Intezar confessed that he has been stealing cars for the past 25 years.

Intezar also confessed that in 2020, he hit police barricades to escape from the spot as he was riding a stolen car.

The interrogation revealed that the accused delivered many cars to Sarik who runs the Satta gang operating from Dubai.

Five stolen cars were recovered from their possession.