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Fake military vehicles clog Chinese roads

Mon, 04/14/2008 - 7:14am

Guang Niu/Getty Images

Since July 2006, the Chinese People's Liberation Army has discovered "4,112 fake military vehicles and 6,373 stolen or bogus military number plates," Xinhua reports.

Why the counterfeiting? Because vehicles with military plates don't have to pay for tolls or parking, and they're far less likely to get pulled over for speeding.

I wonder, what kind of vehicles are we talking about here? Tanks? APCs? Some clever Chinese fraudsters have already fabricated a Ferrari, so why not?

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A quick search of "fake

by thman on Tue, 04/15/2008 - 11:43am

A quick search of "fake ferrari" in google reveals that fake ferrari is probably more common than one might think. According to BBC, a 'back street factory in Thailand' has made a fake Ferrari P4 (powered by a Subaru engine), while a Sicilian counterfeiting ring recently smashed by Italian police is reported to have made fake Ferraris with Pontiac spare parts. It seems it's not that difficult, after all.

The PLA and the paramilitary police own a wide range of 'civilian' vehicles - from trucks to Mercedes, so basically any kind of vehicle can put on a fake number plate without seeming suspicious.