The three youths -- Devendra Singh G Baal (19), Kimtilal O Sharma (19) and Yogendra Singh M Shiromani (19) -- have been remanded to police custody till November 26.

Sub Inspector Raj Jadhav claimed that three stolen motorbikes, two scooters, a Maruti van, two tape recorders and a cellular phone have already been recovered from them. He added that a large part of stolen booty including a Maruti car, five motorbikes and a scooter are still to be seized.

Police said the parents of all the three youths are ex-servicemen residing in Vishrantwadi area. Baal and Sharma study in second year of a diploma course in production engineering while Shiromani is in the 12th standard.

According to the police, the three youths had stolen several vehicles from Chatuhshrungi, Khadki, Pune Cantonment and Wanowrie areas during the last two years.

The three youths would allegedly sell off the stolen vehicles to their acquaintances for paltry amounts after changing their registration number plates, they added.

Acting on a tip off, a team comprising of Inspector Vilas Jadhav, Sub Inspector Ram Jadhav, Head Constable Bajirao Patil and constables Raghunath Jadhav, Sushil Kakade, Ajay Dalvi, Raju Jagtap and Sunil Kulkarni arrested the three youths on November 15.