For a 32-year-old Bandra resident, hawking imitation jewellery at Hill Road was not yielding good income with the BMC taking action against the hawkers. He then started selling his wares at Bandstand, when he stumbled upon a scooter key six months back, and that is when he quit hawking and turned to a life of crime.

That day, Abdul Sheikh used the key to open a scooter nearby and it worked, said police, adding that he stole some cash from the boot. During his hawking days, he had seen a few riders forgetting their keys in the ignition after parking the vehicle.