Police seize 79 posh cars
May 03, 2006
A LUXURY four-wheel drive car belonging to a big fish exporter, Yogesh Vilani, is among the 79 vehicles impounded in the on-going crackdown on stolen vehicles. <br>The vehicles are scheduled for shipment to the rightful owners around the world, according to Interpol.
By Patrick Jaramogi
A LUXURY four-wheel drive car belonging to a big fish exporter, Yogesh Vilani, is among the 79 vehicles impounded in the on-going crackdown on stolen vehicles.
The vehicles are scheduled for shipment to the rightful owners around the world, according to Interpol.
At least 4,000 vehicles have been screened in Kampala, Jinja, Mbale and Mbarara districts.
Yogesh’s metallic brown Lexus with a customised registration number YG 7 was among the 16 vehicles held at Kira Police Station Kampala.
Yogesh yesterday told The New Vision, “I am surprised Police is saying my car is stolen. I bought it genuinely.â€
The director of CID, Elizabeth Kutesa, yesterday told journalists at the CID headquarters in Kampala that among the impounded were Toyota Land Cruisers, Prados, Lexus, Rav4s, Corollas, Starlets, Suzukis, Mitsubishi Pajeros, Hilux, Nissan Patrols, Hondas and Renault.
“The crackdown on stolen vehicles in Kampala code-named ‘Operation Umoja’ has yielded 79 cars on day one.
“In Kampala we recovered 47 vehicles. Fourteen were stolen vehicles, 11 had tampered documents, while 22 had tampered parts. In Jinja we recovered one stolen car and one is under investigation,†Kutesa said.
Flanked by her deputy, Okoth Ochola and the commissioner for crime, Edison Mbiringi, Kutesa said 12 vehicles were recovered from Masaka, six from Mbarara and 12 in Mbale.
She said 21 of the vehicles seized and parked at various Police stations in Kampala and elsewhere were under investigation.
A similar operation was conducted in Kenya last week, where at least 100 four-wheel high-powered cars were impounded.
Kutesa said the operation that was earlier also conducted in Tanzania, follows the recent East African Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation meeting where member states adopted the global Atlas communication project.
“With this new system composed of a comprehensive data base, we are in position to track down any stolen car within one hour in the East African region,†she said.
She said most four-wheel vehicles are sold by the international motor vehicle theft syndicate to war-torn countries like the DR Congo, where they cannot easily be traced.
“People who have been purchasing vehicles from Japan, Dubai and elsewhere should now take precaution. They should seek Police guidance prior to purchasing vehicles,†Kutesa said.
She said the operations would also pursue a cartel of car dealers and importers suspected of shipping stolen vehicles into the country and selling them to unsuspecting customers.
She said no arrests had been made since the target is on the vehicles and not necessarily the owners.
A LUXURY four-wheel drive car belonging to a big fish exporter, Yogesh Vilani, is among the 79 vehicles impounded in the on-going crackdown on stolen vehicles.
The vehicles are scheduled for shipment to the rightful owners around the world, according to Interpol.
At least 4,000 vehicles have been screened in Kampala, Jinja, Mbale and Mbarara districts.
Yogesh’s metallic brown Lexus with a customised registration number YG 7 was among the 16 vehicles held at Kira Police Station Kampala.
Yogesh yesterday told The New Vision, “I am surprised Police is saying my car is stolen. I bought it genuinely.â€
The director of CID, Elizabeth Kutesa, yesterday told journalists at the CID headquarters in Kampala that among the impounded were Toyota Land Cruisers, Prados, Lexus, Rav4s, Corollas, Starlets, Suzukis, Mitsubishi Pajeros, Hilux, Nissan Patrols, Hondas and Renault.
“The crackdown on stolen vehicles in Kampala code-named ‘Operation Umoja’ has yielded 79 cars on day one.
“In Kampala we recovered 47 vehicles. Fourteen were stolen vehicles, 11 had tampered documents, while 22 had tampered parts. In Jinja we recovered one stolen car and one is under investigation,†Kutesa said.
Flanked by her deputy, Okoth Ochola and the commissioner for crime, Edison Mbiringi, Kutesa said 12 vehicles were recovered from Masaka, six from Mbarara and 12 in Mbale.
She said 21 of the vehicles seized and parked at various Police stations in Kampala and elsewhere were under investigation.
A similar operation was conducted in Kenya last week, where at least 100 four-wheel high-powered cars were impounded.
Kutesa said the operation that was earlier also conducted in Tanzania, follows the recent East African Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation meeting where member states adopted the global Atlas communication project.
“With this new system composed of a comprehensive data base, we are in position to track down any stolen car within one hour in the East African region,†she said.
She said most four-wheel vehicles are sold by the international motor vehicle theft syndicate to war-torn countries like the DR Congo, where they cannot easily be traced.
“People who have been purchasing vehicles from Japan, Dubai and elsewhere should now take precaution. They should seek Police guidance prior to purchasing vehicles,†Kutesa said.
She said the operations would also pursue a cartel of car dealers and importers suspected of shipping stolen vehicles into the country and selling them to unsuspecting customers.
She said no arrests had been made since the target is on the vehicles and not necessarily the owners.