3 arrested for selling fake car license plates

Kaohsiung, Nov. 12 (CNA) Three apparently unrelated individuals were recently arrested for selling fake car license plates made in China amid a surge in criminal activity involving vehicles using such license plates, Kaohsiung police said Tuesday.

At a press conference, the city's police department said three suspects -- one, 32, from Tainan, and two others aged 26 and 29, from Kaohsiung -- were apprehended separately for selling more than 500 fake China-made license plates to buyers in Taiwan.

Eight buyers were recently tracked down and questioned by Kaohsiung police, who seized eight sets of two-piece fake license plates.

Kaohsiung police said a crackdown on fake license plates was launched because they have been increasingly used by perpetrators in drunk driving and speeding cases to block law enforcement investigations, posing a serious threat to social order and public security.

During their investigation of fake license plates being used to cover up criminal activity, Kaohsiung police identified the three suspects, surnamed Huang (黃), Lin (林) and Hsieh (謝), who were running online advertisements offering tailor-made license plates on social media platforms.

According to the police, the suspects placed orders with illegal companies in China for their Taiwanese buyers and sold the fake license plates at a price of NT$6,000-NT$8,000 per set.

In addition, the suspects also used dummy accounts to deposit income made from illegal activities and laundered the money abroad through payment apps, such as Alipay, and cryptocurrency, they said.

Kaohsiung police estimate that the three suspects made at least NT$3 million in illegal gains in recent months.

The 11 individuals will be handed over to local prosecutors on suspicion of forging special certification and violating the Money Laundering Control Act, Kaohsiung police said.

The investigation to track down other vehicles using the fake license plates sold by the three suspects is ongoing, the police added.