Ten policemen 'facing arrest'

Arrest warrants will be issued for 10 police officers involved in a car-sales scam, a police source said yesterday.

The 10 officers were paid Bt500 to Bt1,000 a day by Yufuku Decorate Co Ltd to walk in and out of the company's compound to convince innocent investors it was a legitimate business, the source said.

The 10 are commissioned and non-commissioned officers attached to Bangkok-based police stations and the Crime Suppression Division.

Min Buri police said there were 284 victims of Yufuku, which was allegedly selling stolen vehicles. The number of both luxury and common vehicles that had gone missing was 368. Only 19 cars had been found and returned to their owners.

Yufuku employees Natnarin Muhammad, Jaral Supharb and Thitirat Seemuk were wanted on arrest warrants but were still at large. Another employee, Pheeraphong Phirakchawa-nant, is in police custody.

Meanwhile, police said they had found Juthamas Prapha, wanted for another scam run by Paradise Car Rent Co Ltd. As well as selling stolen cars to innocent buyers, Juthamas' company demanded that the owners pay up to Bt250,000 for the return of their cars if they did not want to lose them for good.

Central Investigation Bureau chief Pol Lt General Adisorn Nonsee said victims of Paradise Car Rent Co Ltd began lodging complaints with police in March last year. Police had retrieved 13 cars, including two found yesterday, out of a total of 30 stolen.

The two luxury cars alleged to have been connected to Paradise Car Rent were found in Bangkok yesterday, while another vehicle, a brand

new pick-up truck, was found abandoned near Wat Sothon in Chachoengsao two days ago.

The Isuzu pick-up was the first vehicle, possibly connected to either or both scams, to be found outside Bangkok.

The Nation