Police bust car-theft racket

POLICE YESTERDAY announced success in cracking down on a car-theft gang that preyed on rental car services in Bangkok, and also seized 50 cars for inspection from a parking lot in the Beung Kum area. 

At a press conference yesterday, national police deputy chief Pol General Ruangsak Charit-ek presented the suspected gang members – Purita Maneemas, 25; Piyawat Ketnak, 35; Suriyawut Namphuttha, 28, and Chinese national Guangzheng Saechao, 20. The four were arrested at a car dealer tent in Huay Kwang last Tuesday along with three stolen cars – a Toyota Vios, a Honda Jazz, a Honda CRV – as well as five GPS devices, Purita’s iPhone, Bt689,900 in cash, and 2 tool boxes.

Ruangsak said the arrests stemmed from a police complaint by car rental businesswoman Siwaporn Tangrungreungyoo that Napapat Panpermcharoenkit, 35, her husband Thanatip Panpermcharoenkit, 42, and another man named Laksak Kaewkannet, 37, had rented but failed to return the three cars. 

Tracing the cars’ GPS devices to the tent, she alerted police. When police arrived at the site on Tuesday, Piyawat, Suriyawut and the Chinese man were removing GPS devices while Purita was sitting in one car and her Line message showed she had told someone the “GPS device was removed”. 

Police are checking if 16 vehicles in the tents there were also stolen.

Police investigators found their alleged modus operandi: The first group (Napapat, Thanatip, Laksak) allegedly rented cars for the second group (Purita and her boyfriend Kittipak Samitiwiwan, 27) to drive them to the tent, and the third group (Piyawat, Suriyawut and the Chinese man) removed the GPS devices. 

After the arrest, Napapat went to police to claim innocence so police released her, he said. 

Police would soon have arrest warrants issued for three men who fled for conspiring to steal cars and for taking stolen goods in their possession. 

Piyawat told police that Kittipat, a regular customer at his garage, three months ago had him remove GPS devices from three cars. 

This month, Kittipat brought another 13 cars for removal of GPS, he revealed, adding he was paid only Bt1,500 per car. 

Piyawat said he thought this was legal, as he was told that Kittipat was a car dealer who merely wanted to remove the GPS of second-hand cars to avoid arguments with previous owners. 

Police spokesman Lt-General Prawut Thavornsiri revealed that the accused would put false licence plates on the stolen cars and send them for sale in neighbouring countries at cheap prices. Cars with rare parts would be dissembled for sale of auto parts, he said, urging rental service operators to check customers’ background or require a person to guarantee on top of a financial deposit on top of daily and weekly rental.

Later yesterday, Ruangsak also led police to seize some 50 cars at a parking lot in Beung Kum’s Soi Nuan Chan 10 for inspection, as the previous car theft bust suggested this was the place where they delivered the stolen cars to fellow gang members.