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Police Take Down Car Pawn Business in Northern Thailand
Central Investigation Bureau Police have taken down a car pawn business and arrested four men for allegedly overcharging interest on car title loans, impounding 163 vehicles.
The Central Investigation Bureau led a raid on an unregistered warehouse where 163 vehicles were kept on Mittraphap Road in Phitsanulok on Friday morning. One of the cars pawned had allegedly been stolen in Malaysia.
During the police raid, they arrested the car pawn owner Mr. Natthachai Khuthanthong, 29, his manager Mr. Kanpong Panwaree, 31, and 2 warehousemen, Mr. Patradanai Pongjinda, 21, and Mr. Kulthawat Im-ong, 38.
CVB Police said the car pawn owner charged 10% monthly interest and kept the borrowers’ vehicles as collateral.
Mr. Kanpong the manager was allegedly responsible for transferring car title loans and collecting repayments. The other two men were 15,000 baht each per month for delivering and seizing borrowers’ vehicles.
The borrowers’ of the title loans also had to pay 300-500 baht per motorcycle and 2,000 baht per car for warehouse storage fees.
The loan shark also forced the borrowers’ to sign an ownership transfer agreement to sell the vehicles of nonpayers. He also sold the vehicles that could not be transferred in grey markets. The group had run the car title loans business since last year and its turnover was almost 50 million baht, police said.
CVB Police impounded 163 vehicles included a car reportedly stolen in Malaysia. Two of the vehicles had fake licence plates and two had forged ownership documents.
The four suspects were also charged with loan sharking and overcharging on interest on car title loans.