worth £6.5 million are being returned to Britain eight years after they were shipped to Thailand by a criminal ring that targeted UK motor dealers. The vehicles, including a £220,000 Lamborghini Huracan Spyder, are being returned to their owners following the detection of an international smuggling ring.
Porsches, Mercedes and a Ford Mustang were among the others recovered in what police described as a “sophisticated” finance fraud. The Thai mastermind of the operation, who police are not naming, worked in conjunction with 13 of his fellow citizens to orchestrate the extensive criminal enterprise, police said. Four UK citizens were also part of the scam, obtaining cars – some of which had been requested on order – on finance from dealerships in England between 2016 and 2017.
They were then exported to Thailand to sell in legitimate dealerships. The National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (NaVCIS) began Operation Titanium after four stolen Mercedes were found in a container at Southampton Port. It was then discovered that the same person was sending other UK vehicles that had been fraudulently obtained to Bangkok.
“This was the pivot point that then led us to working with the Thai authorities and national crime agencies to uncover what was a whole criminal enterprise,” Sharon Naughton, Head of NaVCIS, said of the discovery at Southampton. The mastermind behind the operation is now in prison in his home country awaiting trial, police said. Four arrests were ma.
