Theft of 900 Kia engines over five years in India. Police suspect a conspiracy between current and former employees at the car factory.
A sensational theft has hit Kia in India. As many as 900 Kia engines have disappeared from a car factory. The extensive theft was only discovered recently.
The discovery was made during an annual inspection in March. The theft spans a period of five years, meaning the engines did not disappear all at once.
This is what Road and Track writes.
The authorities are now investigating the case intensively. The police have a clear suspicion of who is behind it. They point to an internal conspiracy.
"Preliminary investigations show that the engines were stolen in a systematic and planned manner. It is certain that some insiders are involved," said Deputy Police Inspector Venkateswarulu.
"We suspect that there was collaboration between some former and current employees." This suggests organized theft from within.
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Initially, the police thought otherwise. Their first theory was that the engines were stolen during transport. That would have involved a route of several hundred kilometers.
The engines were to be transported from the state of Tamil Nadu. The destination was the Kia factory in Andhra Pradesh further north. That theory has now changed.
After further investigation, the arrow now points to the factory itself. Police believe the thieves took the engines directly from the Kia plant.
To cover up the theft, the perpetrators probably manipulated the company's records, to hide the missing engines in the accounts.
The Kia plant in India in question officially opened in December 2019. The plant produces between 300,000 and 400,000 cars annually.
The investigation is underway.
A Kia spokesperson has commented briefly on the matter. The spokesperson assures that the theft has not affected production. The factory's output is unchanged.
However, many questions remain unanswered. The biggest question is where the 900 stolen engines are now. This is a central point in the investigation.
"We have formed three special teams to investigate the case. Our teams are travelling around the country to collect crucial documents," says Police Inspector Rathna of Sri Sathya Sai district.
Rathna emphasizes that the investigation is progressing rapidly. Work is underway at high speed to find both engines and perpetrators.
Kia does not wish to comment further on the matter at this time, citing the ongoing police investigation.
The case of the stolen engines is unusual. It differs from the car thefts seen elsewhere. In the United States, certain Kia models are popular with thieves because they lack immobilizers.
Here, the engines themselves are the target. It takes a different kind of logistics and planning to steal a car engine. You can't just hide it under your coat.
While the police in India are working to solve the major engine theft, you can read more at Boosted.dk about how a trend of stealing entire Kia cars spread like wildfire on the social media TikTok.
