The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has arrested four people in connection to a car theft syndicate that has made millions by faking Log Books.
In a statement released on Friday, December 17, the police stated that the four were in cohort with some officials at the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), who were assisting them in changing the ownership of vehicles.
Additionally, the police revealed that they were concerned about the growing trend of theft as many vehicle owners within Nairobi had been targetted.
In the statement, the DCI reveal that the syndicate was also working with credit facilities where suspects used the stolen vehicles as collateral to take up loans.
"In a new crime wave that is gaining currency in the city, unscrupulous businesses men working with employees in money lending institutions have devised a new way of defrauding unsuspecting Kenyans and financial institution.
"The thugs who have turned into overnight millionaires have built a shadowy network of hard-to-trace individuals, incorporating crooked officials at the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA)," read the statement.
The DCI also revealed that the syndicate approached the son of a Gideon Kiarie, who was planning to sell his father’s lorry. He was then offered two bounced cheques as the syndicate altered the vehicle’s tracking system.
“One man approached him, expressed interest in the truck, and wrote him two bouncing cheques worth Ksh1.3 million. The initial ownership details of the lorry in respect of Gideon Kiarie and a commercial bank were also erased from the NTSA portal and replaced with others."
“The new documentation instantly earned the man a loan of Ksh2.8 million. Ksh1.5M was immediately disbursed to him. The detectives are still investigating who were the beneficiaries of the remaining Ksh1.3 million,” read the statement in part.
During the investigations, the police added that the NTSA officials who are under investigation distanced themselves from the syndicate alleging that the system had been hacked.
"The NTSA officials claimed that the system was hacked into, working with brokers and unscrupulous traders, had developed new documentation for the lorry and used the fake papers to acquire the loan," the police stated.
The four have been taken in for further question before being arraigned before a court of law.
“The four suspects will answer to charges of, obtaining credit by false pretences contrary to section 316(a) of the penal code, forgery, uttering a false document, issuing of bad cheques, and fraudulent disposition of mortgaged goods," added the DCI.
