Crackdown reveals 2,000 fake vehicle registrations in Thailand

Royal Thai Police launched an operation titled Crackdown on Illegal Vehicles Flooding the City, leading to the search of four locations and the discovery of over 2,000 fake registrations, including a single registration number used on 26 vehicles.

The operation, conducted yesterday, involved the Crime Suppression Division and the Department of Land Transport (DLT).

Senior officers including Sopon Saraphat, Montri Teskhan, and Kongkrit Lertsitthikul, along with Sekson Akkharaphan, Deputy Director-General of the DLT, announced the results from the four targeted areas in Samut Sakhon, Ratchaburi, Chaiyaphum, and Sisaket.

Four individuals were arrested, and over 30 vehicles, including cars and motorcycles, along with fake licence plates, were seized.

Sopon stated that the operation was necessary due to the significant number of illegal vehicles using counterfeit licence plates on the roads. It was discovered that some registration numbers were used on as many as 26 different vehicles.

These fake registrations are increasingly being used for other illegal activities such as drug trafficking, smuggling illegal immigrants, and transporting illegal weapons. Coordination with the DLT was essential for the success of this operation.

Madam Mali

Officer Montri explained that the crackdown is a continuation of an earlier investigation related to a network known as Madam Mali involved in exporting vehicles with fake registrations to neighbouring countries.

During a raid in Loei province on September 26 last year, police uncovered over 2,000 items of vehicle data, including registration numbers, tax stickers, vehicle brands, and chassis numbers. These documents were believed to be forgeries intended for sale to customers.

The data was classified into three groups: the first group included registration numbers in the DLT’s database but with incorrect vehicle types: the second group had registration numbers matching the vehicles but used on multiple units, referred to as twin cars, and the third group had no records in the system or used unassigned registration numbers.

Montri further explained that many of the 2,000 vehicles identified were still under the ownership of finance companies. Some owners, after leasing the vehicles, pawned them, intending to sell them later. In some cases, the pawned vehicles were sold off without the owners’ consent.

Some buyers were aware of the vehicles’ illegal status but were attracted by the low price or intended to use them for illegal purposes. Others were unaware they were purchasing illegal vehicles as the counterfeit licence plates and registration documents were convincing.

Officer Kongkrit highlighted that in the past year, highway police had seized 67 vehicles with fake registrations. These were primarily used for drug trafficking, smuggling illegal immigrants, and transporting contraband or untaxed goods, among other illegal activities.

DLT Deputy Director-General Sekson noted that the department has been working closely with the police to verify vehicle registrations and prevent illegal activities. The investigation revealed that the registration number used on 26 vehicles was indeed a fake and had never been officially issued, reported KhaoSod.