Police have raided the head office of BMW Korea as part of their probe into suspicions that the German automaker attempted to conceal alleged defects in cars sold in the country, following a recent spate of BMW vehicles catching fire.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said it sent 30 investigators to the main office in Seoul at around 9:30 a.m. on Thursday.

Investigators are seeking to secure documents and records of internal meetings related to exhaust gas recirculation modules which have been cited as the reason some BMW sedans caught fire.

The raid comes 21 days after a group of 41 BWM owners whose cars caught fire filed a complaint with BMW Korea as well as its top officials.

South Korea's Transport Ministry has also opened its own inquiry into the fires.