Another luxury car stolen from Britain recovered as 1,000 vehicles implicated

[snoop1130]

Another luxury car stolen from Britain recovered as 1,000 vehicles implicated

By Piyanuch Tamnukasetchai
The Nation

 

 

The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) and Customs Department have retrieved another luxury car that appeared to have been stolen from Britain and sent to Thailand, while a joint investigation found evidence suggesting 1,000 cars had been falsely declared during import to avoid tax, said DSI deputy chief Korrawat Panprapakorn on Wednesday.

 

Korrawat urged people who had purchased luxury cars to submit the vehicles for inspection and said they would be regarded as damaged parties in the case, while warning that those who failed to cooperate would be unable to renew their car registrations with the Land Transport Department next year.

 

Korrawat made the comment as he and Customs Department deputy chief Chaiyut Kumkun led investigators to impound a Range Rover Hybrid from the JMW car warehouse in the Bangkok Free Trade Zone on Wednesday in response to reports that cars stolen from Britain had been kept there. 

 

The serial numbers on the car matched those of a vehicle reported stolen by UK authorities, so Thai investigators seized the vehicle and sent it to the Customs Department.

 

Korrawat said officers were also checking if the JMW car warehouse was linked to another warehouse where authorities had retrieved three stolen cars – a white Mercedes-Benz, a black Mercedes-Benz and a Nissan sports car.

 

The operation brought the number of retrieved cars to 13 out of 42 reported as stolen from Britain.

 

Korrwat said the DSI would continue to look for the rest of the vehicles, although some were believed to have already been sent to a third country. 

 

Chaiyut said his department had been told that two stolen vehicles that had been exported from Thailand to Hong Kong had not reached their destination and would be recalled. 

 

He added that Customs officials involved in wrongdoing would face disciplinary and criminal actions.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30316864

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-5-31

[speedtripler]

This has been going on for decades, I remember they used to sell  harley Davidsons in Chinatown nearly 20 years ago

Which were stolen in hk and shipped in as "spare parts" valued at a couple of usd per box.. 

 

This has even been in the news before iirc when they were caught doing it way back then

[inactiveposter]

Wrongdoers will likely be posted to inactive parking lots.


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[wakeupplease]

Lets see who takes the rap on this one

[clockman]

The customs department, second most corrupt. Also must have powerful connections. Never investigated?

[Cadbury]

The Customs Department is throwing down a serious challenge for second place on the corruption ladder. Now a tight struggle between the Education Sector and the Customs  Sector. The one with the second biggest envelope wins. No cigars for guessing who holds top place.

[Moti24]

The goverment are only concerned that they've lost out on import tax revenue.  The fact that the cars were stolen doesn't feature in the agenda.  If the correct tax had been paid, they wouldn't bat an eyelid.

[the guest]

Things must be financially tight, when the attention is given to one stole car. In any even, if that is the case, then they should return it to the rightful owner. 

[speedtripler]

6 minutes ago, the guest said:

Things must be financially tight, when the attention is given to one stole car. In any even, if that is the case, then they should return it to the rightful owner. 

The rightful owner would have gotten an insurance cheque about 10-14 days after he reported it stolen and provided a police report.. 

 

In these cases it is now the property of the insurance company, they could choose to bring it back and auction it off or something..... 

 

Might be more hassle than it's worth so a Thai official will probably end up keeping it

[idman]

Here's a quick thought. Since this story has been going on for at least a week and the number of illegal luxury vechicles seized increases not once has the name of a Hi So who owns one of these been published. Protect the rich and privileged is the mantra of this country. I doubt we will ever see a photo in the Post or Nation of a Hi So being brough in for questioning.

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[JAG]

The rightful owner would have gotten an insurance cheque about 10-14 days after he reported it stolen and provided a police report.. 
 
In these cases it is now the property of the insurance company, they could choose to bring it back and auction it off or something..... 
 
Might be more hassle than it's worth so a Thai official will probably end up keeping it

which is probably the whole point of the exercise.

[natway09]

What about the "mafia" in England that "lets them out" Pretty wealthy I presume

[just.a.thought]

How did so many cars get through customs in the UK?

[KNJ]

Probably didn't, false plates through to Europe or beyond and then shipped from some back water somewhere

[KNJ]

The number of cars is minor compared to the number of motorbikes stolen in Japan and shipped.

Owning a motorbike in Japan is a high risk proposition

[YetAnother]

this seems a daily thai astonishment: to wit; some issue is discovered, often by accident, and reveals remarkably high scale

[tomyummer]

This whole investigation is probably sparked by another importer wanting the Lamborghini brand, which after getting busted, then made Niche Cars owner sing against the other importers.

 

Now they are finding more cars at the Bangkok Free Trade Zone (BFTZ)? They should check the who is the owner and manager of BFTZ.

Hint: Related to the Italian brand with the 'trident' logo.

 

Probably as retaliation for getting their names brought into the investigation they are revealing where other brands are hiding cars. Niche Cars (and others) most likely has a warehouse space there.

 

 

[TheLobster]

8 hours ago, KNJ said:

Probably didn't, false plates through to Europe or beyond and then shipped from some back water somewhere

Sounds like that should be investigated. I'm aware of two recent break ins at friends/relatives in the UK where high end cars were stolen by Romanian gangs. 

[Familyonthemove]

I think TAT should use this as a new advertising campaign to attract quality tourists.

 

"Visit Thailand,  your car is already here"

[wakeupplease]

14 hours ago, Moti24 said:

The goverment are only concerned that they've lost out on import tax revenue.  The fact that the cars were stolen doesn't feature in the agenda.  If the correct tax had been paid, they wouldn't bat an eyelid.

No take it as fact they are getting it in the ear from a department in Liverpool???

[wakeupplease]

11 hours ago, just.a.thought said:

How did so many cars get through customs in the UK?

Ask Mr Kwanburi he should know

[George FmplesdaCosteedback]

Has nobody seen the movie Gone In 60 Seconds (1974 or 2000)?

The chop shops all over the west do this.

[George FmplesdaCosteedback]

12 hours ago, KNJ said:

Probably didn't, false plates through to Europe or beyond and then shipped from some back water somewhere

It is possible but unlikely they were transported as second hand cars, they are broken down into parts and reassembled in the buyer's country usually.

With the many assembly plants in Thailand the skills required are fairly common I would think, and this pays better.

[The Dark Lord]

And I get so depressed when I recall having to sell my BM's back in the UK for a pittance because of the ridiculous import duties here.

 

Then having to pay 3x the UK price for a jalopy to replace them here

 

-1 points to LoS

Edited June 2, 2017 by The Dark Lord
Basic stupidity

[mikebell]

On 2017-5-31 at 7:08 PM, snoop1130 said:

He added that Customs officials involved in wrongdoing would face disciplinary and criminal actions.

I feel an inactive post coming on or 500 baht fine whichever is easier to administer.

[impulse]

On 5/31/2017 at 10:21 PM, Father Fintan Stack said:

The real number of stolen imports will be in the tens of thousands I would imagine.

 

There are 3000+ imported cars at Laem Chabang port at the moment. 

 

Betcha there's less than that today...

 

They have had weeks to re-export them.

 

 

[impulse]

16 hours ago, George FmplesdaCosteedback said:

It is possible but unlikely they were transported as second hand cars, they are broken down into parts and reassembled in the buyer's country usually.

With the many assembly plants in Thailand the skills required are fairly common I would think, and this pays better.

 

That's an awful lot of bother given that they can apparently pay a customs guy to look the other way.

 

I know when I was a kid, we always had some nuts and bolts left over when we worked on our cars.  Probably a lot more critical on a recent model Lamborghini than a '72 Chevy Nova.

 

[George FmplesdaCosteedback]

1 hour ago, impulse said:

 

That's an awful lot of bother given that they can apparently pay a customs guy to look the other way.

 

I know when I was a kid, we always had some nuts and bolts left over when we worked on our cars.  Probably a lot more critical on a recent model Lamborghini than a '72 Chevy Nova.

 

If they were coming in fully built I would believe the Thai customs could be "persuaded" to turn a blind eye but if it is going on day after day the profit is likely to be enough to keep everyone happy.

I think the chop shops have a method for getting stolen cars out of wherever they were stolen and through customs, maybe assigned new identities rather than all being dismantled, some going out in boxes others with forged purchased for export documents.

As for your box of leftovers, Ha ha yep, but would be a Vauxhall Chevette where I grew up. We used to take apart BMC Minis.

 

[wakeupplease]

On 31/05/2017 at 4:21 PM, Father Fintan Stack said:

The real number of stolen imports will be in the tens of thousands I would imagine.

 

There are 3000+ imported cars at Laem Chabang port at the moment. 

Any Nissan GTR's from Japan there or have they been quickly moved on to new corrupt owners?