UK-Stolen Land Rover Found in Nairobi as DCI Launches Major Vehicle Crackdown
Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) were able to get their hands on a Land Rover Discovery that had been pinched in the UK as part of a massive crackdown on car theft gangs that operate in Kenya but have connections all over the world.
The grey four-by-four was found parked up at a motor yard along Nairobi’s Northern Bypass during Operation Carback II, a seven-day operation that brought together loads of different agencies to hunt down and bring down these thieves.
According to the DCI, a check of the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) database confirmed that this particular vehicle had been reported stolen back in the UK. They then hauled it in and took it to the DCI HQ to see if they could get to the bottom of how it had ended up in Kenya.
The op also turned up some dodgy vehicles and registration details in Thika West and Embakasi and actually that gives you a sense of the kind of stuff the detectives had to deal with during this nationwide sweep.
DCI Recovers UK-Stolen Land Rover in Nairobi
The recovery of the Land Rover Discovery was one of the key discoveries made by Operation Carback II, a operation aimed squarely at the motor vehicle theft networks that DCI were onto.
Detectives turned up the grey vehicle at a motor yard along Nairobi’s Northern Bypass.
The DCI reckoned a check of Interpol’s database had confirmed that the vehicle had been nicked in the UK, so the police grabbed it.
They then hauled it off to the DCI HQ to see what they could do to figure out who had brought it to Kenya.
The whole sorry affair highlights just how important international cooperation is when it comes to spotting cars that have been cloned elsewhere and then brought into the country.
Operation Carback II Targets Vehicle Theft Syndicates
The op finally came to a close on Friday, 16 October, when detectives from the various DCI directorates joined up with other detectives from the national law enforcement and regulatory agencies and went after the motor vehicle theft gangs.
Kenya had been part of a simultaneous international operation run by Interpol, which was part of a big initiative called Project Drive Out that used Europol – the European Union law enforcement organisation.
The plan was to track down the vehicle theft gangs that work across borders – and DCI detectives were out checking vehicles and looking through records for any stolen or suspicious cars.
According to the DCI the op involved swooping in on all sorts of places like motor yards, showrooms, garages, spare parts shops, a big vehicle market and even just the regular highway checkpoints.
DCI Flags Mercedes-Benz Over Suspicious Number Plates
In Thika West Sub-County, detectives got a bit curious about a white Mercedes-Benz Kompressor when they found out the number plates belonged to an orange Suzuki station wagon.
This discrepancy raised all sorts of red flags about the car’s registration and prompted a bit more digging during the crackdown that’s been going on.
Detectives go through a routine of registration and vehicle checks to see if a vehicle’s details match up with what’s on record. When it turns out that they don’t, it can be a real problem – it could be a case of car cloning, or someone trying to pull a fast one with some dodgy registration details.
The DCI got in touch with us but they didn’t say if the Mercedes-Benz case had gone anywhere.
Detectives Recover Forklift With Altered Chassis Number in Embakasi
Now another case in Embakasi – the DCI got to work when a forklift with the registration number KAD 132K turned up.
According to the records, the number actually belongs to a crawler, a vehicle that’s exactly the opposite of a forklift. It caused a bit of a kerfuffle and got the detectives wondering – had someone been fiddling with the vehicle’s identity?
When you look into a vehicle’s chassis number, it can help you figure out what it is and whether its registration details are legit. If someone’s gone to the trouble of ripping that number out, you’ve got to wonder if something dodgy’s going on.
We asked the DCI what happened with the Embakasi case but they didn’t give us any more info.
Over 1,800 Vehicles Inspected During Nationwide Crackdown
The DCI reported that detectives physically inspected more than 1,800 vehicles. And to make sure they didn’t miss anyone, they checked over 260,000 vehicles against the INTERPOL database.
The operation was a big one and covered Nairobi, Eastern, Central, Nyanza, Western, Coast and Rift Valley regions.
Teams of detectives were on the lookout for vehicles being sold, repaired or fixed up, or even just driving along with some dodgy number plates. They also had highway checkpoints set up to catch any suspicious vehicles in the act.
Several government agencies lent a hand during the crackdown, including:
- National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA)
- Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA)
- Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP)
- Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS)
- Kenya Police Service
- Administration Police Service
The fact that so many different agencies got involved brought together the best of law enforcement, regulation and investigation to make sure the vehicle verification process was as watertight as possible.
How INTERPOL Helps Kenya Identify Stolen Vehicles
The INTERPOL database is a bit like a global vehicle register. It lets countries share information about vehicles that have been reported stolen in one place, so if a police officer is checking over a vehicle in Kenya, they can see if it’s been nicked somewhere else in the world.
When a vehicle is flagged up, the officer can check the INTERPOL database to see if it’s been reported stolen in another country.
It’s a very useful tool, especially in cases where a vehicle has been nicked in one place and then sold or flipped in another.
In one case that the DCI mentioned, the INTERPOL database confirmed that the Land Rover Discovery had actually been reported stolen in the UK.
The agency reckons that intelligence-led operations and international information-sharing are the keys to cracking down on motor vehicle theft.
The DCI said:
“This really shows just how important it is to have good intelligence, and for law enforcement agencies to work together to stop motor vehicle theft – it’s not just a local issue, but something that affects us all across international borders”
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UK-Stolen Land Rover Found in Nairobi as DCI Launches Major Vehicle Crackdown
