OCTB Chief Superintendent Choy Kin-cheung officially handed over the vehicles to four delegates headed by Dato' Syed Ismail Bin Dato' Syed Azizan, Senior Assistant Commissioner I - Criminal Investigation Department Deputy Director.

After the handing-over, the vehicles were put into containers and will be returned to their rightful owners in Malaysia.

The case came to light in November 2004 when the Singapore Police Force (SPF) informed OCTB through the Liaison Bureau that four luxury Malaysian stolen vehicles had been shipped to Hong Kong. OCTB investigation revealed that an international stolen car handling syndicate was operating as a second hand car dealer in Tuen Mun and had a total of three addresses in Yuen Long and Cheung Sha Wan.

In simultaneous raids on the syndicate's addresses on November 24, 2004, OCTB seized a total of eight Malaysian stolen vehicles imported by the syndicate, including the four reported by the SPF. The proprietor of the second hand car dealer, mastermind of the syndicate, was arrested along with his "manager". Two OCTB officers later went to Malaysia to establish the stolen vehicles' status by interviewing their owners.

Subsequently the proprietor and his "manager" were sentenced to 36 and 18 months' imprisonment respectively by the District Court for conspiring to handle stolen goods.

Apart from OCTB's enquiries, the SPF, acting on the intelligence provided by OCTB, also arrested three members of the syndicate in Singapore. They were subsequently jailed for nine to 60 months for handling stolen goods.

The RMP delegates have praised the Force for its efficiency and good relationship with other police forces. The case is another good example of the co-operation between the Force and other law enforcement agencies in combating international crime.

A further example of the Force's close ties with overseas law enforcement agencies