The arrest, carried out by officers from the Highway Police Division and the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB), took place at a red light at Nong Phai Intersection on Highway 37 (Cha-am – Pran Buri Rd) in Thap Tai, Hua Hin District, Prachuap Khiri Khan Province.
Arrested were named in a CIB report as ‘Ms Supaporn’ and ‘Ms Khemnan’, who were both charged with “joint theft of property”.
Officers also seized key pieces of evidence including: a white Toyota Fortuner with Phuket licence plates; a GPS signal jammer powered by a power bank; two red (temporary) licence plates registered in Bangkok; and a fake vehicle registration manual.
The operation followed a report from a car rental business owner in Surat Thani, Mr Kittiphum, who told police that the two women had posed as tourists and arranged to rent his Fortuner, collecting the vehicle from Surat Thani Airport to make the transaction appear legitimate.
However, while Mr Kittiphum was asleep, the suspects allegedly disabled the vehicle’s GPS tracking device using a jammer. When he later noticed that the car had gone dark, he immediately contacted the Highway Police hotline (1193) to request assistance in recovering the vehicle and filed a formal complaint at Phunphin Police Station.
The report by CIB did not confirm whether the Phuket-registered Fortuner was in Phuket when it was rented or stolen.
Highway Police in Prachuap Khiri Khan were able to stop the vehicle before it left the region. Upon searching the Fortuner, officers found the GPS jamming device and discovered that the car’s licence plates had been switched to red plates registered in Bangkok.
Police say the suspects intended to drive the car to Sa Kaeo Province, near the Cambodian border, where it would then be smuggled out of the country for resale.
A background check revealed both women had criminal histories. Ms Supaporn had previously been prosecuted for opening a mule bank account, while Ms Khemnan had a standing arrest warrant for theft and had been involved in at least 10 other fraudulent car rental cases in different provinces.
Under questioning, the pair admitted to the charges and told officers they were working for a man known only as ‘Mr Boss’, whom they had contacted through a closed Facebook group.
According to the suspects, ‘Mr Boss’ provided them with the GPS jammer, fake licence plates and covered their travel and accommodation expenses. The women said they were paid B10,000 for each successful delivery.
Police have now launched an investigation to track down ‘Mr Boss’ and other possible members of the smuggling network.
Both suspects were taken to Phunphin Police Station in Surat Thani for further legal proceedings.