Six fuel guzzlers impounded after being smuggled into Kenya
Detectives from the Serious Crime Unit have impounded six luxury cars believed to have been smuggled from other countries.
The vehicles were impounded on Wednesday at the Mombasa port.
According to a statement by DCI, the six vehicles – three Mercedes-Benzes and three Range Rovers – were confirmed to have been stolen from their countries of origin.
“Further investigations by Interpol established that one of the Mercedes Benzes was robbed from Mrs Tshegofasto Mabyane in South Africa and one of the Range Rovers was reported stolen in the UK,” said the DCI.
The two vehicles will be handed over to Interpol and the South African police who will take up the investigations in to the matter.
Three of the six vehicles impounded were found to have evaded tax as they were processed as semi-trailers.
The last vehicle, a Range Rover had a Toyota Probox Registration Number.
The four vehicles will be handed over to the National Transport and Safety Authority and the Kenya Revenue Authority for further processing.
STOLEN VEHICLES
The DCI said all perpetrators will be charged accordingly.
This is not the first time stolen vehicle from UK have found their way to Kenya illegally.
In March, officials o the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) intercepted three high-end fuel guzzlers at the Mombasa Port which were on transit to Uganda.
The three vehicles – a Range Rover Sport, a Range Rover Vogue and Land Rover Discovery – confirmed stolen in Interpol’s motor vehicles database, were reportedly concealed in a container which was supposed to be ferrying household goods.
In 2015, a report in the UK’s Independent newspaper reported that the British police and their East African counterparts had seized stolen vehicles worth more than Sh161 million in Uganda.
Many buyers in Kenya and Uganda are unaware that the cars they are buying are stolen, the report added.
The vehicles are sold with what appears to be legal documents but have either been faked or acquired through corruption.