Police in Sri Sathya Sai district, who arrested eight individuals in connection with the theft of over 900 car engines from the Kia Motors plant in Penukonda, were stunned to discover how the stolen engines were disposed of.
During the investigation, it was revealed that the expensive Kia engines were sold to fishermen for use in boats and to vendors operating sugarcane juice machines — an unexpected and shocking twist.
The arrested individuals include Vinayaka Murthy, Manikantha, Armughan, Patan Saleem, Arjun, and two others from Tamil Nadu. They were presented before the Penukonda court, which remanded them to judicial custody.
Some of the accused are believed to have previously worked at the Kia plant before resigning. Over the past three years, more than 900 car engines have reportedly gone missing from the company.
According to the police, the accused transported the engines to Tamil Nadu, where they were sold to a businessman. He, in turn, sold them to three individuals in Delhi.
Investigations are ongoing, and the police are expected to question those already in custody while searching for additional suspects.
Typically, Kia car engines are shipped in containers from Chennai Port to the Penukonda plant. These are stored at a Glovis Company warehouse or sent directly to the production unit, depending on demand.
Police suspect the thefts occurred during the unloading of these containers.
In some cases, engines were not unloaded at all — they were left inside the containers and transported out of the premises.
The gang is believed to have forged fake gate passes to smuggle the engines out and distribute them to various buyers.
However, police say retrieving the stolen engines has now become a difficult task. Many of them may have already been sold across the country.
Authorities also suspect that the engines sold in Delhi could have been tampered with or resold, making it harder to trace them.
Efforts are ongoing to identify buyers and collect further details. More revelations are expected as the investigation progresses.
The large-scale theft of car engines from a high-security facility like the Kia plant has caused a major stir across the state.
Following the incident, Kia management has reportedly ramped up security measures at the factory.