THE Road Transport Department (JPJ) has impounded 258 high-end vehicles, including brands like Ferrari, Porsche, and Ford Mustang, during a nationwide crackdown dubbed Op Luxury, after identifying them as operating without valid road tax or insurance.
The enforcement action, which began in June, targeted vehicles across three operational phases. Some of the luxury cars were reportedly owned by businesspeople, celebrities, social media influencers, and even foreign nationals.
According to JPJ Senior Director of Enforcement, Muhammad Kifli Ma Hassan, the majority of these vehicles were found committing serious road offences—particularly long-standing lapses in tax and insurance coverage.
During the third and latest phase, Op Luxury 3.0, which ran from Thursday to Saturday, JPJ detained 104 vehicles of various makes driven by both Malaysians and foreigners, adding to the total of 258 seizures across all three phases.
“Most of the vehicle owners gave the usual excuse—that they forgot. Some of the seized vehicles were found to have had expired road tax since as far back as 2022,” said Muhammad Kifli during a midnight press briefing at the JPJ Vehicle Storage Depot in Kuala Lumpur.
Also in attendance were Hamidi Adam, JPJ Director for Kuala Lumpur, and Azrin Borhan, the department’s Selangor Director.
Breaking down the data from the latest round, Kuala Lumpur recorded the highest number of seized vehicles (93), followed by Selangor (61), Penang (28), Sarawak (16), and Kelantan (15).
Among the offences cited were the absence of valid road tax and insurance, expired or missing driving licences, unregistered number plates, and other technical infractions.
In addition to the vehicle seizures, 619 summonses were issued to motorists who failed to comply with road transport regulations.
All impounded vehicles are currently under investigation at JPJ depots and are being examined under the Road Transport Act 1987 (Act 333) and other applicable laws.
“After we (JPJ) seized the vehicles, some owners complied immediately by renewing their road tax and insurance. The vehicles were then returned to their respective owners,” said Muhammad Kifli.
He made it clear, however, that the department will not tolerate non-compliance and vowed stricter oversight going forward.
“JPJ will intensify enforcement and has instructed all JPJ teams nationwide to step up their enforcement efforts,” he added.
Looking ahead, Muhammad Kifli confirmed that a full report will be submitted to the Ministry of Transport this Monday, with recommendations to amend current road transport laws.
JPJ previously revealed that over 1,000 luxury vehicles in Malaysia had failed to renew road tax over long periods, prompting the targeted operation.
Earlier stages of Op Luxury saw the seizure of 101 luxury vehicles in the first phase, and another 53 during the second phase, with each car estimated to be worth millions of ringgit.—Aug 10, 2025
Main image: JPJ (Facebook)
