Police have busted a gang which stole at least 50 rental cars, used fake documents to register the vehicles and resold them on the internet.
The gang reportedly had more than 40 million baht circulating in its illegal business.
Eight out of nine suspects, four of them women, named in warrants have been arrested, Pol Maj Gen Khongkrit Loetsitthikun, commander of the Highway Police Division (HPD), said on Thursday.
The nine suspects were identified by police only as Phattharada, 32, Tharathep, 32, Chokchana, 66, Ramphai, 30, Warut, 26, Ratthanaphon, 35, Sippawin, 32, Ramwirin, 30, and Chaiwat, 39, said Pol Maj Gen Khongkrit.
Mr Warut remains at large, he added.
They were wanted on charges of embezzlement, document forgery, use of falsified documents and giving false information to state officials with the intent to obtain government documents unlawfully, he said.
The eight suspects were detained on Wednesday, he added.
Ms Phattharada and Mr Tharathep were the gang masterminds who oversaw and financed the illegal operation, while Mr Chokchana, Ms Ramphai and Mr Warut went out to rent cars and stole them, said Pol Maj Gen Khongkrit.
Meanwhile, Ms Rattahanphon and Mr Sippawin were responsible for falsifying documents to register the stolen cars in someone else’s name and for obtaining new licence plates.
Ms Ramwirin was in charge of posting used car for sale adverts on social media and finding buyers, the commander said. Mr Chaiwat then delivered the cars to buyers.
The investigation into the gang was launched in December after the owner of a car rental business in Chachoengsao province filed a complaint with local police.
She told police one of her rentals had been stolen. The businesswoman later found out the car had been issued with a new licence plate carrying a new registration number.
The re-registration was conducted in Nakhon Pathom, prompting her to call the highway police’s hotline to seek help with locating the stolen car, said Pol Lt Col Thotsaphon Kittilap, chief investigator at Highway Police Station 3.
At the same time, the woman continued with her own private investigation.
The car’s licence plate reassignment was confirmed by the Department of Land Transport’s (DLT) mobile application, he said.
The highway police then sought cooperation from the DLT, which discovered that fake documents were submitted to support the application for the new licence plate for the stolen car, Pol Lt Col Thotsaphon said.
On Jan 8 highway police spotted the stolen car leaving Nakhon Pathom and heading north, which prompted a chase, said the chief investigator, adding the car was eventually intercepted in Tak where the buyer was detained for questioning.
The buyer said he bought the car for 300,000 baht over the internet, said Pol Lt Col Thotsaphon.
