Four cars — a Santro, two Sumos and an Ambassador — and a motorcycle were stolen from the city streets on Wednesday night.

The Santro (WB02 W5691) was parked in front of 3B Gangadhar Banerjee Lane, in the Watgunge police station area. The theft was discovered the next morning when the owner stepped out of his home. The local police station and the motor theft section of the detective department were informed immediately, but the vehicle could not be traced.

A “high-end model” of Sumo (WB23 B1749) was stolen from the Muchipara area. The theft was detected around 5.30am. “The vehicle was parked in Panchanan Ghosh Lane, in the Amherst Street police station area, on Wednesday night. The criminals managed to unlock the vehicle and drove away early on Thursday,” said an officer.

The second Sumo (WB02 J6446), too, went missing from Muchipara. It was parked in Amal Chowdhury Lane.

A white Ambassador (WB02 A7886), parked in front of 17 Hara Chandra Mullik Lane, in the Shyampukur police station area, could not be found on Thursday morning.

Along with the cars, a motorcycle (WB07 2632), too, went missing on Wednesday night. It was parked on Posta’s Sikdar Para Street.

“Vehicle-lifters in the city operate for racketeers based in Bihar and Nepal. We are keeping a vigil on all entry and exit points of the city,” said Jawed Shamim, the deputy commissioner of police (detective department).

“Vehicle-lifting is the biggest organised crime now. The criminals escape our net by taking fleeing to neighbouring states, where the police hardly cooperate with us,” said an officer of the detective department.