BANGKOK: Malaysian car-jacking syndicates have been using Thailand as a transit point to smuggle stolen vehicles into other regional countries such as Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

According to Bukit Aman CID director Datuk Seri Wan Ahmad Najmuddin Mohd, the Royal Thai Police (RTP) had since 2015 recovered more than 100 stolen Malaysian vehicles in the kingdom and handed them over to their Malaysian counterparts.

“Thailand is a transit country for Malaysia's car-jacking syndicates,” he told reporters after receiving 20 stolen cars, mostly luxury vehicles, from RTP adviser Gen Witaya Prayongpan during a ceremony here yesterday.

He said police forces from both nations would step up their cooperation to bust vehicle theft syndicates currently operating in both countries.

Hot’ wheels: Some of the luxury cars which were recovered by the Thai police.

Wan Ahmad Najmuddin said efforts were under way to track down the Malaysian lea­der of the syndicate.

Meanwhile, the RTP, in a statement issued after the handing-over ceremony, said stolen vehicles had been a long-standing issue and had impacted the economies of both countries adversely.

“Thai Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha and his deputy Gen Prawit Wongsuwan have always stressed the importance of tac­kling the issue as it has the potential to lead to other criminal activities.

“This is not merely about stolen motor vehicles but could potentially finance other activities of criminal nature such as terrorism,” it said. — Bernama