Sharjah: Two members of a gang which allegedly stole a “huge number” of vehicles and smuggled them out of the country have been arrested, police said on Saturday.

A senior official at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) at Sharjah Police said the gang had members operating inside and out of the country. The vehicles were stolen from individuals and companies in the country, the official said without specifying the total number of vehicles involved.

The arrested suspects are Pakistani.

The police had launched an investigation after they received a number of complaints from car owners.

The gang targeted only four-wheel drives, the official said.

A police team identified one suspect and raided his hideout and seized tools used by the suspects.

The suspect admitted his role in the thefts and led police to his partners.

The two revealed to the police how they carried out the thefts. They broke into the cars by opening the window and tampered with the ignition before driving the stolen vehicles to Al Ain.

The stolen vehicles were then smuggled outside the country in coordination with another suspect who lives in a neighbouring country. The latter sent someone to pick up the stolen vehicle. He paid to the two suspects either immediately or transferred money through a money exchange.

The police are now hunting the suspects who are outside the country.

The case has been referred to Sharjah Public Prosecution.

Sharjah Police urged all community members not to leave their vehicles in deserted or poorly lit places.