Thirty luxury cars worth £6.5 million that were flown from the UK to Thailand after being fraudulently purchased through financing have been recovered and returned, police have announced.
The fleet included Porsches, Mercedes and Ford Mustangs, as well as a £220,000 Lamborghini Huracan Spyder, which the manufacturer describes as “the pinnacle of Italian flair and hand-crafted craftsmanship”.
Detectives from the National Motor Crime Intelligence Service (Navisys) said the cars were acquired in 2016 and 2017 from dealers and luxury car rental companies in the UK.
They were transported by sea and air to Thailand, where they were sold through authorized dealers by members of the gang, which is believed to have included Thai and British nationals.
The search and recovery operation, codenamed Titanium, was launched after four Mercedes cars were discovered during a container inspection at Southampton Port.
This led to an extensive search and it was discovered that other British vehicles stolen in the financial fraud had been transported to Bangkok.
Sharon Norton, director of Navcis, said of the Southampton raid: “This was a key point in working with Thai authorities and the national crime agency to unravel the entire criminal organization. We have confirmed that many of these vehicles were transported by air cargo to Bangkok.”
Police said a Thai man was in custody awaiting trial. Four people were arrested in the UK, but no charges were laid. All 30 vehicles were returned to the UK by sea, ending an eight-year investigation.
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The Lamborghini Huracan Spyder has been reunited with its owner, who runs a supercar rental company. Mr Norton said: “This person was an individual who was renting a car. The loss of a valuable asset caused personal damage to himself and his business. This is not a victimless crime. ”
The rest will be returned to the stores where they were picked up. Police believe they have recovered all the cars taken in the scam.
Intranee Sumawong, a senior public prosecutor at Thailand’s Department of International Affairs, said Thai people particularly preferred British cars driving on the same side of the road. “They love owning expensive cars,” she says. “It’s a very big market for these cars in Thailand.”
Earlier this year, 16 people were found guilty in the UK of taking part in a £2m conspiracy to defraud expensive cars. 75 cars were stolen, including Porsches, Mercedes, and BMWs. Organized crime groups used stolen information to enter into fraudulent credit agreements.
