Stolen Cars on Way Back From Thailand
Sixteen cars stolen from across Southern California and smuggled to Thailand through the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles are being returned, U.S. Customs officials announced Friday.
The recovery marks the largest number of vehicles ever returned to the United States from an Asian country, according to inspectors from the Outbound Enforcement Team, the multi-agency task force whose yearlong investigation turned up the stolen cars.
Agency detectives opened the case in June 1995 after discovering five stolen cars in a cargo container that was scheduled to be shipped to Southeast Asia ports, Outbound officials said. They added that this is the first time stolen vehicles have been returned after entering Thailand.
All 16 vehicles are expected to be auctioned because insurance companies have reimbursed the cars’ previous owners for their losses, said a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol.
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