Yesterday, officials from the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) conducted raids on four sites in an effort to find links to the luxury cars that caught fire on top of a trailer in Nakhon Ratchasima last week, an incident that has sparked a rush by authorities to clamp down on car import tax evasion.
DSI officials searched the home of Thamma Motor Rich company’s managing director Phonphimon Khehathan, and the warehouses of JMW Motor Co. Ltd., TAN Express Co. Ltd. and Phochai Auto Parts Co. Ltd. The search turned up four luxury cars – two Mercedes and two Maybachs – suspected of having been attained in a manner that intentionally avoided import taxes. Twenty-four thousand bottles of liquor, suspected of having been imported illegally, were also found in the warehouse of TAN Express.
DSI director-general Tharit Phengdit, after conferring with representatives from the Revenue Department, the Thai Industrial Standard Institute, the Central Institute of Forensic Science, the Customs Department and the Land Transport Department, said the ownership of luxury cars will be scrutinized and the total number of such cars and the list of the owners will be revealed by later today.
