Report: Former Kia India workers, scrap dealers face probe over engines theft
Kia lodged a police complaint in March in Andhra Pradesh, saying that an internal review showed over 1000 engines sourced from Hyundai were missing, according to Reuters.
Two former Kia India workers are under a police probe over allegations that they colluded with scrap dealers to steal over 1,000 engines from the automaker’s factory, according to a Reuters report.
The engines were worth USD 2.3 million, and the alleged theft went on for three years.
The South Korean car maker had lodged a police complaint in March in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, saying that an internal review showed engines sourced from Hyundai were missing. Kia suspected a conspiracy between former and present employees, the Reuters report said.
Two former Kia India factory workers were found to be involved in illegally transporting the engines from the factory using fake invoices and manipulated gate passes, an initial police investigation revealed.
Two other people allegedly helped arrange transport, and scrap dealers helped sell them to buyers.
“The entire operation involved repeated illegal transactions, use of multiple trucks bearing manipulated or pseudo registration numbers,” Inspector K. Raghavan said in a probe document seen by Reuters.
The former head of the engine dispatch section at Kia’s factory, Vinayagamoorthy Veluchamy, is currently under arrest in custody. He has applied for bail and denied any involvement in the alleged thefts. The other Kia worker, former team leader Patan Saleem, has not yet been located, the Reuters report said.
