Kohima: Mon police dismantled a trans-border vehicle theft ring. The Anti-Vehicle Theft Squad seized thirty two-wheelers during a three-week operation in Mon town. The sweep started with simple document checks. It turned into a major investigation.
Police tracked stolen bikes back to Jorhat, Tinsukia, Charaideo, and Sivasagar in Assam. They also found bikes from Longding, Arunachal Pradesh. Some thefts went unsolved for five years. Investigators found that Nagaland-based middlemen moved the bikes into local villages. They sold the stolen property to unsuspecting buyers at low prices. Sellers often handed over fake documents to seal the deals.
The department labeled the bust as one of Mon Police’s notable proactive operations. The effort uncovered an expansive inter-state network involved in the theft, transportation, and disposal of stolen vehicles. Officers have returned the bikes to their rightful owners.
The crackdown remains active. Police currently hold twenty more vehicles, including several 4-wheelers, while they verify titles. They are tracking the Assam-based thieves and local middlemen. A police official warned that more arrests are coming. "We are on the lookout for more. The operation will continue," the official said.
Authorities issued a strict public warning. Buyers must check registration, chassis numbers, and engine details before paying for used vehicles. Never ignore red flags for a cheap price.
Updated at 1st September 2026 at 10:00am
The scope of the investigation is wider than initial counts suggested. Police initially flagged more than 50 vehicles in Mon town with questionable titles or incomplete paperwork. After running these machines through an independent verification drive, officers discovered that over 30 were definitely hot, tied to long-standing theft reports across the border.
To close the cases, Mon officers took the lead by contacting police stations in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh directly. They swapped vehicle details and FIR numbers, eventually inviting officers from those jurisdictions to Mon to complete the legal handovers. Officials noted that this independent inquiry helped revive and clear out several files that had gathered dust for years.
Investigators also pinned down how the scheme worked. Local middlemen acted as brokers, identifying buyers and taking a cut of the cash for moving the stolen inventory. The police are currently digging into these intermediaries and have passed on intelligence about the Assam-based thieves to their counterparts across the border.
Updated at 2nd September 2026 at 1:47am
Beyond the garage, the department is hitting traffickers. Mon police arrested two suspects in Naginimora on August 31, seizing 14 soap cases of suspected drugs. The stash was buried underground near Wakching village. Preliminary reports suggest this supply chain starts in Myanmar, with the duo picking up the load along the international border.
This hit follows an August 19 sting where police and Charaideo authorities nabbed 800 grams of suspected shanflower and arrested six people. One main suspect’s bank records showed a massive 20 crore in transactions over the last decade. Police are tracking a 30.43 lakh influx in just the five days before the arrest, signaling a major money laundering operation linked to the drug trade. Authorities are now coordinating with Assam Rifles to tighten border security against cross-border contraband.
Updated at 2nd September 2026 at 9:48am
New details show a sharp spike in illegal money flow. The main suspect in the August 19 trafficking case raked in 74.45 lakh in July 2026 alone. During the first 20 days of August, that account pulled in another 80.22 lakh before the bust hit.
Officials clarified the timeline for the latest sting. The Naginimora operation ran for three days starting August 28. To keep the heat off, the two suspects ditched their stash underground near Wakching village and traveled elsewhere. Officers tracked the pair through coordinated efforts between the local station, the QRT, and the Tizit and Mon SDPOs.
Comments