900 Kia car engines stolen in Andhra over five years; police launch probe

Penukonda: As many as 900 Kia car engines were allegedly stolen in Sri Sathyasai district over a period of five years, prompting the South Korean automobile company to lodge a police complaint, an official said on Tuesday.

Kia operates a car manufacturing plant in Penukonda, Sri Sathyasai district, where police believe the engine thefts began nearly five years ago. The company filed a formal complaint on March 19.

“It (the thefts) started in 2020. It has been a continuous process for nearly five years. We will go deep into the investigation,” Penukonda Sub-Divisional Police Officer Y Venkateshwarlu told PTI.

According to him, a preliminary investigation has confirmed the theft of 900 engines. He said the engines were stolen both en route to the manufacturing plant and from within the premises.

Police suspect the large-scale theft to be an inside job and are focusing their probe on past and current employees of the company.

“It’s not outsiders—it’s from within. Not even a small part can leave the premises without the management’s knowledge. We’re investigating who was involved,” Venkateshwarlu said.

He added, “We conducted a preliminary inquiry, found certain loopholes, and are now targeting former employees, though we believe some current employees may also be involved.”

Police have formed special teams to investigate further and have collected several records during the process.

Company officials were not immediately available for comment.

Meanwhile, Kia did not respond to an email questionnaire seeking clarification on why the company failed to detect the thefts for five years, the effectiveness of its inventory systems, the value of the stolen engines, and other related queries.