CHENNAI: Anna Nagar Police on Saturday arrested a 22-year-old man, said to be the mastermind behind a bike theft racket. He and his accomplices targeted and stole sports model bikes in the city.

The suspect was identified as Arjun of Tirukovilur in Kallakurichi. Police had been on the lookout for Arjun after his accomplice, Kabilan (24), was arrested last month.

Anna Nagar police were probing a complaint from S Gautham (22), a competitive exams aspirant. On April 7, Gautham’s bike, which was parked outside his hostel in Anna Nagar, was stolen. Using CCTV footage, police zeroed in on Kabilan, a resident of Anna Nagar, and arrested him.

Kabilan told the police that he was a food delivery executive and took note of the high-end bikes parked on roads and passed this information to his accomplice, Arjun, and both of them stole the bikes. Arjun would take the bikes to Kallakurichi and Villupuram where he changed the number plates and sold them at cheaper rates.

Police said that Arjun already has 8 criminal cases against him and that he had first stolen a bike in Komarapalayam near Namakkal. Arjun was produced before a magistrate and remanded to judicial custody.