Johor cops cripple car-cloning syndicate

ACP Mohd Taib pointing to one of the clone cars in Taman Perling on Wednesday.

JOHOR BARU: Police have crippled a car cloning syndicate selling luxury vehicles for as low as RM3,000 each in Taman Perling here.

Johor Baru North OCPD Asst Comm Mohd Taib Ahmad said that following a tip-off, two suspects both aged 22 years were arrested along with six vehicles worth RM800,000 at around 5pm on April 5.

"Initial investigations showed that one of the suspects is a Singaporean.

"Both of them did not have any criminal record and will be remanded for 14 days to assist investigations.

"Among the vehicles confiscated were a Nissan Murano, BMW 523i, Toyota Previa, Honda Civic FD and a Honda Airwave. These were sold between RM3,000 and RM10,000 each to buyer," he said at a press conference here on Wednesday.

Among other items seized including both Malaysian and Singapore plate numbers, fake road tax certificates, a computer, a printer and Singapore smart tax machines.

ACP Mohd Taib said that the vehicles had been scrapped in Singapore as they were over eight years old.

"The syndicate would bring in vehicles from Singapore about three months before the expiry date of the vehicles' certificate of entitlement (COE) and sell it to Malaysian buyers.

"We are on the hunt for another four suspects, including the mastermind, believed to be a Singaporean," he said.

He added that police had so far confiscated about 13 clone cars since January.

He said that the case was being investigated under Section 135(d) of the Customs Act 1967, which carries a maximum four-year jail sentence, or a fine of up to 20 times the value of the seized items, or both.