An impressive haul of luxury cars has been uncovered in Thailand, including models from Lamborghini, Mercedes and Porsche. This wasn’t the collection of a billionaire, however, and was instead a fleet of cars that had been bought fraudulently overseas with the aim of selling on to unsuspecting buyers in Thailand.
The fleet of 30 cars has been recovered in Thailand as part of a sting operation into a gang operating in the country that reportedly stole 35 cars. The group was fraudulently acquiring cars overseas, shipping them into Thailand and then selling them off, reports the Guardian.
The operation uncovered a warehouse full of cars that was collectively worth as much as $8 million, and included a Lamborghini Huracán, three Nissan GT-Rs and luxury models from the likes of Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and BMW:
Detectives from the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (Navcis) said the cars were obtained from dealerships in England and from a company that hires out high-end vehicles in 2016 and 2017.
They were shipped to Thailand by sea and air, where they were sold on via legitimate dealerships by members of the gang, which allegedly included Thai and British people.
The operation to find and recover the cars, codenamed Titanium, was launched after an inspection of a container at the Port of Southampton found four Mercedes.
The cars were found scattered across dealerships and industrial estates in Thailand, where they were being stored before getting sold off, reports the BBC. Once the 30 cars had been identified and rounded up, they were shipped back to the UK where they were originally from.
After 8 years, 35 vehicles, original value over £6million were returned from Thailand following Op Titanium. These were obtained on fraudulent finance and within a few days were shipped to Bangkok. It took years of work and fantastic assistance from Thai authorities. pic.twitter.com/Ig0H5L2i97
— NaVCIS (@NaVCIS_UK) October 31, 2024
Agents involved in the case are now working to return the vehicles to their rightful owners, with the BBC adding that the Lamborghini has already been taken back to its owner more than seven years after it was first stolen. As the site adds:
The vehicles were acquired through hire-purchase agreements, before being air freighted with false papers to Singapore and shipped to Thailand, DSI said.
Raids at nine locations in Bangkok uncovered eight Mercedes Benz vehicles, five BMW M4s, five Porsches and other expensive models, the department added.
Charges had been brought against 13 people including the alleged gang leader, DSI said.
Five cars reported stolen as part of the case are yet to be accounted for, the site added.
The cars recovered in the raid aren’t your typical stolen vehicle, as the list for the most stolen cars in America is awash with things like Hyundais and Kias. Instead, the case in Thailand echoes a similar sting operation here in the U.S., where law enforcement brought charges against a man who had stolen more than a $1 million worth of luxury cars by renting them, cleaning the titles and then selling them off.
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