DSI returned 30 stolen vehicles valued over 100 million baht to UK and to speed up efforts to retrieve 5 remaining vehicles

DSI returned 30 stolen vehicles valued over 100 million baht to UK and to speed up efforts to retrieve 5 remaining vehicles

          On July 19, 2024, at 10.30 a.m., at the main hall of the DSI Headquarters, Police Colonel Tawee Sodsong, the Minister of Justice, H.E. Mr. Mark Gooding, Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Thailand, Mr. Duncan Burrage, International Liaison Officer of the National Crime Agency (NCA), Mr. Watcharin Panurat, Deputy Director General of the Investigation Department, Office of the Attorney General, and Mr. Narong Srirasan, Executive Director for Legal Aid and Planning and Deputy Spokesperson of the Office of Attorney General as the representative of the Attorney General, Police Major Yutthana Praedam, Acting Director General of the DSI, Police Lieutenant Colonel Phayao Thongsen, Deputy Director General of the DSI and Head of the special case no. 78/2561 investigation team, the team of special case inquiry officials and public prosecutors in the case held a press conference on the return of 30 vehicles, stolen in the United Kingdom and imported into Thailand, to the rightful British owners through the cooperation of the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), and to speed up the efforts to retrieve the 5 remaining vehicles for returning to the owners.

          This case resulted from the mutual legal assistance (MLA) request from the United Kingdom submitted to the DSI via the Office of the Attorney General. The request led to the investigation of the case of individuals stealing vehicles in the UK and illegally imported them into Thailand. The modus operandi in the case was that during 2016-2017, a group of Thai and foreign offenders led by Mr. Intharasak or “Boy Unity” obtained vehicles from various British companies through hire-purchase agreements and falsely declared the said vehicles to the officers of the His Majesty's Revenue & Customs (HMRC) as new vehicles, which was contrary to the fact, in order to export the vehicles out of the Heathrow Airport, London, UK to Singapore, then export the vehicles from Singapore into Thailand. The said vehicles are 35 cars of 13 makes, all of which are expensive cars, e.g. Porsche, Lamborghini, Range Rover, etc. valued almost 3 million pounds or over 100 million baht. The UK’s NCA investigated into the case and requested the DSI to investigate and prosecute against the group of offenders and retrieve the vehicles for returning to the UK. The DSI accepted the request as the special case no. 78/2561. As some offences were committed outside of the Kingdom of Thailand, the Attorney General assigned Police Lieutenant Colonel Phayao Thongsen, Deputy Director General of the DSI, as the head of the special case investigation team, with the Director General of the DSI as the special case inquiry official responsible for the case in accordance with Section 20 of the Criminal Procedure Code and assigned the public prosecutors of the Special Litigation Department to partake in the investigation. The investigation discovered that the vehicles stolen in the UK were successfully imported into Thailand.  The offenders imported the vehicles into Thailand by using 3 related companies as the importers and declaring documents and paid import duty to the Customs Department in order to legitimize the vehicles for registration with the Department of Land Transport. Then the vehicles were sold to the general public in Thailand.

          Subsequently, on May 18, 2017, the Department of Special Investigation launched a law enforcement operation code-named "Titanium Operation." With the NCA as an observer, the Department of Special Investigation executed search warrants at nine target locations in Bangkok. The raid and subsequent investigation led to the seizure of 30 vehicles, including five BMW M4s, one Ford Mustang, one Honda Civic Type-R, one Lamborghini Huracan Spyder, one Lexus, eight Mercedes-Benzes, one Mini Cooper, three Nissan GTRs, five Porsches, two Land Rovers, and two Volkswagen GTIs. Additionally, an investigation is underway to recover five more vehicles as follows:

          The investigation has been completed, and charges have been brought against Mr. Intharasak and others, totaling 13 persons, for the following offenses: 1. the offense under Sections 335 (7) and 357 paragraph two of the Criminal Code of jointly taking by stealth by a group of two or more people or receiving stolen property for profit; 2. the offense under Sections 264 paragraph one and 268 of the Criminal Code of jointly forging and using forged documents in a manner that may cause damage to others or the general public so as to deceive any person into believing they are genuine documents; 3. the offense under Section 244 paragraph one of the Customs Act, B.E. 2560 (2017) of jointly importing goods, which have been passed through or are being passed through a customs formality into the Kingdom while avoiding restrictions or prohibitions of such goods; 4. the offense under Section 5 (1) (2) (3) and (4) of the Act on Prevention and Suppression of Participation in Transnational Organized Crime, B.E. 2556 (2013) of jointly participating in transnational organized crime; and 5. the offense under Sections 209 and 210 of the Criminal Code of jointly being a member of a secret society or criminal association. The team of special case inquiry officials is of the opinion to recommend prosecution against all 13 alleged offenders, and since the alleged offenses were committed outside the Kingdom (extraterritorial offense), the authority to consider the case at the prosecutor level rests with the Attorney General. After reviewing the investigation, the Attorney General ordered the handling of all 30 seized vehicles under Section 85 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which grants the investigation team the authority to decide on the matter. At a meeting, the team concluded that since the public prosecutor did not file for forfeiture, there is reasonable ground to return the vehicles to the British victims who are the rightful owners and have the right to claim them. This led to coordination with the NCA for the return of the vehicles and the press conference held today.

          The success of this case is due to the collaboration of all sectors, including the Department of Special Investigation, the Office of the Attorney General, the British Embassy in Thailand, and the NCA. This cooperation aims to ensure justice and bolster Thailand's image in the eyes of allied nations, demonstrating our sincerity and commitment to solving the case, in line with the government's policy.

          The Department of Special Investigation urges the owners of the 5 remaining vehicles to check their vehicles against the list above. If your vehicle is found on the list, please contact the Department of Special Investigation immediately via hotline 1202.