National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) Director-General George Njao has warned motorists against falling for a motor vehicle syndicate posing themselves as auctioneers sent by the authority.
The gang also poses as police officers before breaking into cars in the name of repossessing them for auctioneers.
A section of motorists in Nairobi and other towns lamented that the suspected syndicate is using the stolen vehicles to secure loans.
"If such cases have been reported to the police, we will liaise with them and swiftly respond. Our offices are open on weekdays and the public should be aware that we do not collude with thieves," Njao stated in an interview with the Standard.
Apart from stealing cars, the cons also steal and alter the identity of cars to suit their needs before presenting the vehicles as collateral.
"I reported the matter to the police and I learnt that the gang is forging logbooks to access bank loans. They, later on, repossess the vehicles through fake auctioneers after the motorist fails to repay the loans," one motorist lamented in an interview with a local daily.
He added that fake auctioneers ambushed him in Nairobi CBD with a photo of a car similar to his Toyota Prado. However, he resisted arrest and insisted on reporting the matter first.
Detectives suspect that the ring colludes with rogue NTSA officials to alter details of vehicles on the authority’s Transport Integrated Management System (TIMS). The details of a car remain the same in the logbook but the gang changes colour and owner name only.
The gang also reportedly hacks the system to alter the details themselves. NTSA unveiled the system to curb car theft syndicates after motorists raised concerns on number plate theft and cloning of plates.
In January 2019, police arrested 19 NTSA employees in an operation set out to curb the duplicating ring. One car that had a duplicate number was used to stage the dusitD2 terror attack in the same month.
A crackdown by the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) exposed a vehicle theft and identity syndicate in Ngara in February 2020
A group of mechanics collaborating with hackers were apprehended for manipulating data on the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA). A senior NTSA official was also arrested for allegedly colluding with the hackers.
Investigation officers also accused lenders of failing to authenticate logbooks before issuing out loans.
How to Cross Check Vehicle Registration
Conduct a search of the motor vehicle ownership and registration on NTSA TIMS’s portal using the prospective vehicle’s Registration Number.
Conduct a search on the Collateral Registry (MPSR) under the Business Registration Service (a department of the Attorney General’s Office) on your account on the eCitizen Portal.
Conduct a search on Kenya Bureau of Standards’ (“KEBS”) mileage verification portal using the prospective vehicle’s Chassis Number (VIN Number).
