Police seize 70 cars from major car theft gang

Police have seized another 70 cars from alleged members of a major car theft gang preying on owners who had pledged their vehicles for loan.

Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) police have retrieved 70 more vehicles from a car park in Nonthaburi province, CIB commissioner Pol Lt Gen Jirabhop Bhuridej said during a media briefing on Friday.

The seizure came after a caretaker of the car park notified the CIB to look into some vehicles parked in his venue by suspected gang members, he said.

Thirty-nine of the seized cars were found to be evidence in theft cases filed by victims, he said.

In November last year, police arrested several suspects who were members of the “Jae Ploy Chon Buri’’ gang.

The suspects had posted online advertisements encouraging people to mortgage their vehicles with them. After the vehicles were handed over, the gang refused to return them to their owners and later resold them.

The CIB police then extended the investigation, which led to searches at seven locations, and were able to seize 64 cars in Nonthaburi during a crackdown on the major car theft gang on Nov 26 last year.

Of the 64 seized vehicles, 56 were found to be evidence in cases filed with police by victims of the gang, said the CIB commissioner.

Police continued to retrieve more vehicles from the gang, as there were 509 victims with 511 cars held by the gang and its network members. 

Following the media briefing, the CIB handed over the retrieved vehicles to their owners.