Porsches, a Lamborghini and a Ford Mustang were among a batch of more than 30 cars allegedly stolen in the UK and shipped 10,000km away by thieves.
Police have returned a batch of allegedly stolen luxury and sports cars to the United Kingdom after an eight-year investigation led them to the other side of the world.
One man is in custody, while four more were arrested with no charges brought after a sophisticated car-theft finance fraud racket saw more than 30 high-end vehicles stolen and shipped 10,000km across the globe from the UK to Thailand, according to police.
With an estimated total of £6.5 million ($AU12.8 million), police say the stolen vehicles included a £220,000 ($AU434,000) Lamborghini Huracan Spyder as well as several BMW M4, Porsche Boxster and Nissan GT-R sports cars.
A Range Rover Sport luxury SUV, multiple Mercedes-Benz cars and a Ford Mustang Convertible were also said to be part of the recovery.
The National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (NaVCIS) said the vehicles were stolen from high-end car hire services and dealerships across the UK in 2016 and 2017.
UK vehicles were targeted because – like those on Thailand roads – they are right-hand drive, police allege.
The vehicles were allegedly stolen through finance fraud before being sent to Thailand via air and sea shipping, where it is claimed they were shown in car dealerships.
There, they were sold to unknowing buyers who thought they were engaging in a legitimate transaction, police allege.
Operation Titanium was launched after police inspecting a shipping container in Southampton – the UK’s second-busiest port, shipping around 820,000 cars annually – discovered four stolen Mercedes-Benz vehicles, prompting a wider investigation.
“We identified a number of these vehicles had been transported to Bangkok via air freight,” Sharon Naughton, Head of NaVCIS, said in a media statement.
“Within a week, some of these vehicles had already been obtained dishonestly via the dealership and were already en route.”
Making the program more lucrative – and further fraudulent – the vehicles were intentionally undervalued when they landed in Thailand, police say, meaning they paid a far lower excise duty upon arrival.
The joint operation between UK and Thai police saw the vehicles recovered to the UK, where they have been returned to their previous homes – including one grateful Lamborghini owner.
The deception to obtain the vehicles is said to have been similar to a NaVCIS investigation, which in April 2024 saw sixteen people sentenced in the UK for using fraudulent credit to obtain high-end vehicles.
The group used fake documents to steal £2 million ($AU3.9 million) of cars with each now serving jail time of between 13 months and almost five years, according to police.
In Australia, an organised crime racket cracked by New South Wales Police in June 2024 recovered $2 million in cash and saw several collectible cars and motorcycles seized.
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