KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) -- Nearly 1,000 vehicles are stolen every month in Malaysia and smuggled abroad for sale to fund terrorism and criminal activities, news reports said Tuesday.

Vehicle theft has turned into a lucrative business, churning hefty profits for organized, global criminal groups, federal criminal investigation chief Christopher Wan Soo Kee was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times.

In the first five months of this year, 4,907 cars were reported stolen nationwide, an 11.5 percent increase from the same period last year, Wan said in the report.

"Trafficking and smuggling of stolen vehicles are mainly the work of structured and sophisticated global criminal groups," he was quoted as saying.

"Such huge profits can be used by criminal organizations to strengthen their activities and support terrorism, while destabilizing developing nations at the same time."

Some three million vehicles are stolen throughout Asia, Africa, Europe and North America each year, worth an estimated US$21 billion (euro15.4 billion), Wan said in the report.

Southeast Asia is being used as a transit point to smuggle stolen vehicles, and countries in the region must share information and expertise to combat the menace, Wan told The Star daily.

Wan could not be reached for further details and other police officials declined to comment.