Meerut, Sept. 21 -- Moradabad police have dismantled a key operation of an international auto-lifting gang masterminded by Shariq Satha, the alleged orchestrator of last year's Sambhal violence. Three members of the syndicate were arrested early on Saturday morning, along with seven luxury vehicles valued at crores of rupees, forged documents, and fake number plates. Senior superintendent of police (city), Kumar Ranvijay Singh, described the gang as a sophisticated "international vehicle mafia" during a press briefing. "This is an international vehicle mafia whose mastermind is Shariq Satha, r/o Sambhal," Singh stated. "He is probably hiding in Dubai and operates from there. He has hired some automobile lifters, receivers, and appointed some people for documentation... Auto lifting and delivery are done on demand." Singh added that the arrests mark a major breakthrough in disrupting a network that spans multiple states and international borders. The operation unfolded overnight on September 19, when officers from Majhola police station intercepted the suspects in Moradabad. The arrested individuals-Gagan Gautam, son of Chhotelal, from Chiraavda village in Palwal, Haryana; Rajkumar alias Raju, son of Omprakash, originally from Aligarh but residing in Palwal, Haryana; and Yunus, son of Yusuf, from Murilipura in Jaipur, Rajasthan-were caught red-handed with the stolen fleet. Two other accomplices, Mahfuz from Islamnagar in Moradabad and Aman Thakur from Ekta Colony in Moradabad, fled the scene and remain at large, with police issuing alerts for their capture. The five-member gang targeted premium vehicles in urban hotspots, primarily in Delhi and its suburbs. Once stolen, the cars underwent rapid modifications: electronic coding systems were tampered with to disable tracking devices, original number plates were discarded. The vehicles were then stashed in remote locations before being offloaded to buyers at inflated prices, with profits split among the crew. "This gang operated on demand, lifting specific models as per client orders," Singh explained. "Shariq Satha, from his base in Dubai, coordinated the entire supply chain, including lifters, document forgers, and receivers." Among the recovered vehicles-most of them brand-new models with missing complaints already filed. Six of the cars were pilfered from Delhi, while one originated from Sahibabad in Ghaziabad. Police also seized keys to the vehicles and confirmed that, on Mahfuz's instructions, the haul had been concealed in an open plot behind the Laban Hotel in Moradabad. Shariq Satha's name has surfaced repeatedly in Uttar Pradesh law enforcement circles, particularly following the Sambhal violence earlier this year, where he was identified as a key figure behind the unrest. Believed to have fled to Dubai to evade arrest, Satha allegedly uses his overseas perch to direct a web of illicit activities, including vehicle smuggling....