17/07/2013
Luxury cars seized in Interpol crackdown DONT GET CAUGHT OUT!!!!!!!!!!! (TODAYS NATION)
http://www.nation.co.ke/News/Luxury-cars-seized-in-Interpol-crackdown-/-/1056/1917258/-/kkaebh/-/index.html
Luxury cars seized in Interpol crackdown - News - nation.co.ke
Several luxury vehicles were Tuesday impounded in Nairobi by Interpol.
The crackdown targeted vehicles reported stolen in Europe and other parts of the world and sold to unsuspecting buyers locally.
The cars seized included Toyota Land Cruisers and Toyota Lexus models.
The police, immigration and Kenya Revenue Authority officials helped Interpol in the operation.
Nairobi head of criminal investigations Nicholas Kamwende said the operation would continue until all vehicles listed as stolen by Interpol were seized.
“This is an Interpol operation and we are looking for stolen vehicles. It will go on until the vehicles are off the road. Our officers are particularly looking out for Sport Utility Vehicles,” he said.
The operation is being carried out simultaneously in Uganda and Tanzania as well as countries in southern Africa.
Officers stop vehicles at random and check the vehicle’s engine and chassis number, then feed it into a data base in a laptop.
If the number is in the database, the computer immediately indicates when the car was stolen and the place where it was stolen from.
Both registered and unregistered vehicles have been impounded in the crackdown.
A similar operation in 2006 caused a huge public outcry and all seized vehicles were returned to their owners.
That operation revealed a network of dishonest car owners in countries where the vehicles were manufactured who sold them to unscrupulous dealers for export then reported them stolen to claim compensation from insurance firms.
Mr Kamwende said impounded vehicles would be kept at police stations.
The operation also targeted transit cars that were diverted into the Kenya market, thus evading customs duty.
Top of the range second-hand vehicles in Kenya cost upto Sh5 million, depending on the model and year of manufacture.
Several luxury vehicles were Tuesday impounded in Nairobi by Interpol.