Canadian cops are working with Cambodian customs officials to track an international car smuggling ring that is stealing cars in the West and shipping them to Asia.
Earlier this month, Cambodian customs officials seized 12 luxury vehicles stolen in Ottawa, including a Hummer and a Cadillac.

The vehicles, packed in shipping containers containing aluminium and clothes, were seized at the deep-sea port of Sihanoukville at the weekend, officials said. All were 2003 models or later.
 
"It's the first time we've ever done this sort of thing," said Interpol's deputy director for Phnom Penh, Keo Vanthan, confirming that the vehicles were all registered in Ottawa as being stolen.

News reports said that after three decades of war and upheaval, including the Khmer Rouge's four years in power in the 1970s, Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in Asia, with a third of its 13 million population living on US$1 ($1.61) a day or less.

However, in the last 10 years a small but mega-rich elite of politically connected businessmen and government officials has started to emerge - along with Cambodia's reputation as one of the region's most corrupt nations.

Despite the capital's grinding poverty, Phnom Penh is awash with four-wheel-drive vehicles, including Hummers and Mercedes or other luxury brand SUVs (Sport Utility Vehicles).

Canadian ambassador to Phnom Penh Donica Pottie said the ships carrying the containers had been impounded pending a full investigation into the smuggling, although no arrests had yet been made.

The seizures have created a stir in some blogs devoted to the automobile trade. One person wrote:  “Just the other day, I spotted a Landcruiser which still had the original owner's sales plate on the back fender. It was from a garage in Belgium.”

Canadian insurance officials said stolen cars from Canada are also showing up on the west coast of Africa, in Arab nations and Eastern European countries. The cars are typically loaded into containers and they're taken away by rail or truck for shipping, he said.
An estimated 30% of stolen vehicles never reappear, mostly because they're chopped and sold for parts, given a new ID number or exported.

It can cost the insurance bureau up to C$2,000 per vehicle to be shipped back to Canada.
The seizure in Cambodia is unusual because most stolen cross are shipped across the Thai-Cambodia land border.

Thailand shares a 750km common border area with Cambodia. There are more than 172 border crossings in Surin, Buri Ram, Si Sa Ket and Sa Kaew provinces, and 72 of them are popular transit routes for car smugglers.

Smuggling gangs normally steal cars based on orders from Cambodian clients, who are mostly influential people, officials and traders.

Stolen vehicles are then smuggled into Cambodia via these four border provinces.