They would hire a taxi and go cruise on the streets looking for easy prey. Once they had identified a target, it was a matter of time before the car slowed down next to the person and a hand from the taxi made a lunge for the necklace or the handbag. The car then speeded out of reach.

Luck ran out for three members of a snatch-and-run gang on their fifth theft bid in south Calcutta on Friday. The men were chased and caught when they were driving away after their fifth operation within a span of one hour in broad daylight. Two other members of the gang managed to give police the slip.

The three were identified as Aloke Roy and Raja Ghosh from Garia and Uttam Das from Bhowanipore. Officers of Lake police station found out that the same group had robbed two more people on Thursday. The police recovered two gold chains and a loaded firearm from the trio.

Ajay Kumar, deputy commissioner of police (south division), said the five youths in their mid-20s boarded a taxi around noon. “They targeted woman walking along the streets where traffic movement is less.”

The first crime took place in the Bhowanipore area. “From there, they went to Ballygunge Circular Road and robbed two women. With three successes under their belt, the gang drove into the Lake area,” said Kumar. On the stretch in front of Lake Kalibari, two other women were targeted.

“But this time, one of the victims noted the taxi licence number and alerted the police. The message was conveyed to all policemen patrolling the roads,” said Kumar.

Around 1.30 pm, the taxi was spotted heading towards the Gobindapur shanty. It was immediately chased and intercepted. Two of the gang managed to jump off the car. The three others were caught. “By the time we reached the police station with the trio, other victims lodged their complaints with police,” said an officer.

The driver of the taxi was detained for interrogation. “He claims he was threatened to obey the culprits at gun-point. We are verifying his statement,” he said.

According to deputy commissioner of police (detective department) Gyanwant Singh, the men do not have a criminal record. “Now it appears that they have committed a number of crimes in the recent past. Their arrest will help us crack other unsolved snatching cases,” he said.