Police seize 10 cars stolen from Japan

Ten vehicles stolen from Japan were have been recovered in an operation conducted by the Kenya police and Interpol in Mombasa.

Mombasa police boss Kipkemoi Rop said there was a long list of vehicles stolen from the Asian country that detectives were looking for in Kenya.

The team started their operation on Thursday by stopping vehicles on the Mombasa-Nairobi highway along Kibarani crossing, comparing their details with those on their lists without any success.

But a massive search along the busy Nyali Bridge and Likoni crossing led to the recovery of the 10 stolen vehicles from Japan.

“The operation was conducted following the sharing of intelligence between Interpol and the Kenya police on the rampant cases of vehicle theft in Japan. So far we have netted 10 vehicles and we are looking for more,” Mr Rop told the Nation.

He said the cars held at Urban and Central police stations needed further scrutinising before the police can decide what to do.

On Wednesday, 17 luxury cars stolen from Europe were seized on Kenyan roads.

Interpol has raised the red flag over a surge in motor vehicle theft worldwide, saying that every 10 seconds a vehicle is stolen.

According to the global security agency, more than three million vehicles disappear each year, with the criminals raking in an annual profit of about $19 billion (Sh1.6 trillion).

Interpol singled out the Democratic Republic of Congo as being the most notorious destination for vehicles stolen from other parts of the world, most of which pass through the port of Mombasa.

The organisation says that after the cars have been cleared from the port and cross the border they are sold to unsuspecting buyers who end up being held by police once the vehicles are traced.

The Interpol office has an inventory of all vehicles stolen across the world and at the click of a button they are able to tell whether a car was stolen or not.

Kenyans wishing to import vehicles have been urged to consult the regional Interpol office in Nairobi to make sure they are not buying stolen cars.

Last September, a similar search was conducted in Tanzania and 51 vehicles impounded.

Self-driven hired cars are increasingly becoming targets of an international car theft syndicate in Kenya.

Car thieves have taken to hiring self-drive vehicles for an extended period, then driving them across the border.

The cartel has been stealing an average of 10 vehicles from major towns every month.

They use blank logbooks when smuggling vehicles across the border to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and Malawi via Tanzania and Uganda.