Thai police arrested four teenagers and seized 11 stolen motorcycles and spare parts in a raid on a garage in Mueang District of the north-eastern province of Khon Kaen on Friday.
Pol Maj-Gen Noppakao Sommanas, commander of the provincial police, said that the group, aged 13 and 14, claimed that they learned the tricks of stealing motorcycles online.
He said that the boys would usually travel to parking lots to find motorcycles to steal, especially those with the ignition keys left in them.
The stolen motorcycles would be disassembled and sold to garages as spare parts or modified, so they cannot be recognised by the rightful owners, and used by the boys.
To prevent theft, the officer said that police on patrol havebeen instructed to advise motorists to lock their vehicles properly, to remove the ignition keys and not leave valuables in the vehicles.