Second-hand car sales take criminal turn for the worse
Stolen vehicles ‘made over’ to fool buyers, writes Wassayos Ngamkham
It is now not enough to buy a secondhand car just by looking for the right vehicle in reasonable condition at an inexpensive price.
Recent police raids on a used car tent and a garage have led to an extra but very important factor that should determine whether to strike a deal: whether or not the car for sale was acquired illegally.
The Crime Suppression Division is urging buyers to be inquisitive and go through the vehicle’s documents, and corresponding car body numbers, with a fine tooth comb.
Where previously thefts and sales were often performed individually in unrelated crimes, criminals are now working in gangs that coordinate efforts to steal cars, modify their appearance and distribute them to second-hand sellers, Bunlue Phadungthin, the chief of the CSD’s subdivision 3, says.
Ignoring this advice may result in sales that become invalid upon inspection, warned Pol Col Bunlue.
In September, Pol Col Bunlue was assigned by CSD chief Pol Maj Jirabhop Bhuridej to look into the activities of these gangs after his superior received many complaints from motorists and car rental companies concerning stolen vehicles.
His team of investigators tracked down a group of suspects who had rented an orange Honda Jazz from a victim at a petrol station on Rama III in Bangkok’s Bang Kholaem district on Sept 21.
However, the suspects never returned the car.
The victim later saw his vehicle on display at a used car tent in tambon Suan Luang in Samut Sakhon’s Krathum Baen district.
Investigators found the car had licence plates from another Honda Jazz that had been severely damaged in a road accident.
The owner of the car told police he sold its wreckage but was not aware the licence number would be used again.
When the investigators dug into the case, they found a connection between this second-hand car tent and a garage in Pathum Thani, Pol Col Bunlue said.
The officers raided the garage, located in tambon Bang Luang in Pathum Thani’s Lat Lum Kaeo district, last Wednesday as soon as they were granted a search warrant from the court.
Deputy superintendent for CSD’s subdivision 3 Kanchira Norasan, who led the investigation, said she suspected the garage was linked with a “major car theft gang”.
Her team found four suspects, identified as garage owner Rung Saophasa, two painters — Adiphong Saophasa and Suwit Phuthanawirachat — and welder Yutithon Prasomchinda.
They were caught in the act of “dissecting” two Honda Jazz cars, Pol Capt Kanchira said.
What most caught the investigators’ eyes was the removal of car body numbers, which is considered an unusual practice.
The officers also spotted a white Mazda 2, which also had no car body numbers.
Police are investigating whether the three workers had colluded with their boss in the car thefts.
Looking at the series of events in this case — from the fraudulent rental of the orange Honda Jazz and subsequent resale to the acquisition of the wrecked vehicle — Pol Capt Kanchira believes they point to a coordinated plot to modify stolen vehicles and replace their licence plates with those from “twin cars”, often from non-repairable, damaged vehicles purchased for scrap prices after road accidents.
“Each month they can modify up to 20 cars before selling them to car tents,” she said.
Once they are displayed for sale, buyers fall prey to the gang.
“People who buy second-hand cars from the tents and on the internet must stay alert to this crime,” Pol Col Bunlue warned.
“They have to inspect car body numbers well as well as check registration numbers with the Land Transport Department,” he advised.