Published on October 07, 2005

Service centres may be colluding with firm making fake BMW, Benz components: DSI

The Department of Special Investi-gation (DSI) yesterday vowed to find out whether BMW and Mercedes Benz service centres have colluded with a manufacturer to supply their clients with fake auto parts.

“We have learnt that several service centres have ordered auto parts from this company and we have to establish whether they were duped or they colluded with the company,” Yongyuth Srisattayachon, who heads the DSI’s Intellectual Property Litigation Office, said yesterday.

Up to 19 Mercedes Benz service centres and five BMW service centres in the country have ordered auto parts from Autotrim International Transaction Co Ltd, which has churned out counterfeit items. A search of the company’s factory in Ratchaburi and its sales office in Bangkok uncovered more than 50,000 fake components, worth over Bt50 million.

Justice Ministry permanent secretary Somchai Wongsawat said the bogus auto parts could be substandard and put drivers’ safety at stake.

Somchai also drives a Mercedes Benz and is a regular client at a service centre, which has also ordered parts from the Autotrim International Transaction.

He said clients were being overcharged by four to five times if they were duped into buying fake items rather than genuine ones.

According to Somchai, five executives of Autotrim International Transaction have been charged with producing fake components and having counterfeits in their possession with intent to sell.

The suspects were identified as Swiss-national Delfino Zapico, and Pensri Udonchainit, Chainarong Udonchainit, Somsak Phan-udom and Porntip Harn-anekkhun. Zapico, Pensri and Chainarong are the company’s directors.

Zapico is currently on an overseas trip.

Yongyuth said the factory’s financial transactions would be investigated in line with the United States’ request that such investigations should be launched for all cases of economic crimes.

“The probes are meant to check whether there’s any link to money laundering and terrorism,” Yongyuth said.

Meanwhile, Daimler Chrysler Thailand’s general manager communications Chatvithai Tantraporn for said the company had an efficient audit system and was confident there were no fake auto parts at its service centres.

“We haven’t received a single complaint from our clients,” he said.

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