UK and Thai police slam brakes on supercar scam

BANGKOK // Dozens of supercars were reported stolen in Britain and shipped to Thailand in a complex scam that police from both countries are rushing to dismantle.

Detectives in Bangkok have launched a series of raids on car dealers in recent weeks after a British request to retrieve the stolen vehicles.

Police have seized more than 120 sports cars, including some identified as stolen from Britain.

Lamborghinis accounted for 32 of the 122 seized vehicles, said Thailand’s department for special investigations.

Britain is the most popular source for luxury car imports to Thailand because both countries drive on the left side of the road.

Thai investigators say they have also uncovered an array of scams and loopholes that car dealers and corrupt customs officials exploit to circumvent the high import taxes that Thailand levies on supercars – usually about 328 per cent.

“More than 1,000 supercars are implicated in the undervaluing scam,” said Lt Col Korawat Panprapakorn, who leads the Thai investigation.

“This practice has been going on for a long time.” The tax evasion scams ranged from impressively creative to bizarrely simple.

At least two vehicles were allegedly shipped over from Britain in parts and then assembled in Thailand to avoid taxation. Eight Lamborghinis were declared as the cheaper Gallardo model when they were the much more expensive Aventador.

Customs officers either did not notice or deliberately turned a blind eye.

But in the vast majority of cases dealers under-declared the true value of the cars, often by tens of thousands of dollars. The department said it was now investigating about 30 businesses.

The stolen vehicles were whisked abroad through a different scam. Sources with knowledge of the investigation in Britain said most of the cars were bought on finance and shipped to Thailand.

When the vehicles were at sea, the owners reported them stolen and stopped making the monthly repayments.

Britain’s national vehicle crime intelligence service said it was working with Thai police to track the vehicles.

Thailand’s justice system is opaque and slow-moving, and any court case must reach its conclusion before the stolen cars can be sent back.