This archive report was first published on 5 July 2020.
On June 11, a Nissan Wingroad belonging to Deputy Officer Commanding Matunda Police Station Joseph Jakoyo was stolen from his parking lot.
However, a day later, detectives from Nairobi spotted a car with similar specifications on the Kericho-Sotik road.
The driver, who had a different number plate, sped off when asked to pull over and started shooting at the officers.
Three occupants abandoned the vehicle and escaped on foot, but Aron Kibet Chepkwony, 25, was arrested.
Investigations revealed that the car theft syndicate operates in Eldoret, Kitale, Kericho, Bomet, Narok, and Nakuru.
According to the DCI, the syndicate works with some employees of the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) to extract information about vehicle specifications from the NTSA website.
The information is used to create fake number plates that match the model of a car with a genuine number plate.
Between Thursday and Friday, police recovered seven vehicles that had been reported stolen from different towns within the Rift Valley.
The recovered vehicles include a Toyota Axio, a Toyota Hilux, a white Toyota Probox, a Toyota DX, a Toyota Premio, a Toyota Hiace, and an Isuzu D-Max pickup.
Police are checking with the Kenya Revenue Authority to see if the number plates match with the cars' chassis numbers.
DCI boss George Kinoti said that the syndicate uses a gadget called a kindler to unlock the car and tamper with the ignition to start it.
By Sunday Nation, July 5, 2020
