Tracking system recovers stolen car in record time
A Nairobi motorist is delighted after a car tracking system helped him locate his stolen vehicle on Friday, barely three hours after it went missing in Zimmerman.
Mr George Kamande, using a tracking system that can remotely switch off a car’s engine and with assistance from Kasarani police, got back his Toyota Fielder at a yard near Kahawa West before those who stole it could tamper with it.
Speaking to the Daily Nation on Saturday, Mr Kamande said it was nothing short of a miracle that a car that went missing around 6:30am was back in his hands by 9am.
He had given the car to a friend, and it is the friend who fell victim to carjackers who drove the car away when he went to open a hardware shop in Zimmerman on Friday morning.
“I suspect someone must have copied my car keys, probably when I had given it to car wash people,” he said.
When it was established that the car had gone missing, they contacted a car tracking company that started the recovery operation.
Mr Jacob Rugano, one of the brains behind the tracking firm, told Sunday Nation that they were able to switch off the car remotely.
CAR SYSTEMS
“Those driving it away must have been shocked,” he said. “The technology kills all the car systems from the power to the fuel system. When that happened, in this particular case, they must have towed the car to the place it was found.”
The system converts a car into a phone of sorts, complete with a Sim card. By texting a certain code to the phone number of the Sim, the car “calls” back and enables one to listen to conversations in the car, thanks to hidden microphones the company installs.
“We could hear them talking but the conversation later ended, and we suspected they had left the car,” said Mr Rugano.
Mr Kamande, the owner of the car, said they reported to the matter to the Kasarani police station and once the location of the car was established, they rushed to the spot and found it.
“At the yard, there was another car. I suspect they use the yard, which is located near Kamae Road, to change car details before they transfer the stolen products elsewhere,” said Mr Rugano.
“There seems to be many cars stolen and dismantled from there,” he added.