Chandigarh, Aug 7 (IANS): A Delhi youth with an engineering degree is among the two persons arrested for stealing high-end luxury cars from Chandigarh and neighbouring areas, the police said on Sunday.

A team of the Chandigarh Police Crime Branch has nabbed Harpreet Singh, who holds a Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) degree, and Ramjeet Singh, who studied up to Class 12, for a series of thefts of high-end cars.

"During interrogation, one Toyota Fortuner, four Toyota Innovas, one Hyundai i20, and one Mitsubishi Pajero SUV car worth Rs 1.10 crore were recovered on their instance. With the arrest of the accused, a total of eight luxury vehicles have also been recovered and the cases have been worked out," a Chandigarh Police spokesman said here.

The police had laid a trap to nab the accused following a spurt in incidents of vehicle thefts, especially luxury vehicles in and around Chandigarh. Both accused had come to Chandigarh recently to steal another SUV.

Harpreet, 24, is a resident of Delhi's Tilak Nagar locality while Ramjeet, 22, belongs to Abchal Nagar, near Chander Vihar Nelothi Extention, New Delhi, the police said.

"Both the accused are residents of Delhi and presently unemployed. Both are hi-tech vehicle lifters and use hi-tech electronic instruments to steal luxury vehicles. They both have past criminal record and were found involved in more than two dozen cases of vehicle thefts, registered against them in the different states, i.e. Chandigarh, Haryana, Punjab and Delhi etc.," the police spokesman said.

Both accused, according to the police, would tamper with the vehicles and sell them in Delhi. "They were used to making big money and enjoying a lavish lifestyle," the police said.