Interpol have big success in tracing stolen vehicles in Africa.

There will be less flash motors in East Africa from this week as vehicles stolen from round the world are rounded up in a hugely successful Interpol operation..little noticed in Europe.

East African Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation (EAPCCO) met last August which has led to the adoption of the global Atlas communication project.With this new database it is possible to track down any stolen car within one hour in the East African region.Interpol updates the data from 184 countries stolen motor vehicles (SMV)for which they have been notified.

Remarkable success has resulted in the region in impounding vehicles stolen in Japan, UK and Europe.Officers are provided with laptop computers and encrypted CD's with the records contained in the Interpol Stolen Motor Vehicles (SMV) database, updated weekly, to allow officers to conduct checks at remote checkpoints instantly.

In Uganda last week over 4,000 vehicles were screened in Kampala, Jinja, Mbale and Mbarara districts which resulted in 79 vehicles impounded in a crackdown on stolen vehicles.

The vehicles are scheduled for shipment to the rightful owners around the world, according to Interpol.

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.A red sticker bearing the initials EAPCCO (East African Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation) was attached to windscreens of vehicles which had been inspected and cleared.

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.

Purchasors of hi-spec vehicles from Japan, Dubai and elsewhere should now be aware. 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.

Kutesa said the operation (Operation Makumi) was also conducted in Tanzania Almost 20 per cent of the vehicles checked on the first day were found to be suspect (over 100). Sixty-seven illegal firearms were also recovered and 141 individuals were determined to be illegal immigrants.and A similar operation was conducted in Kenya last week, where at least 106 four-wheel high-powered cars were impounded of which at least 30 luxury cars belonging to Members of Parliament were among those seized by police in the ongoing crackdown on vehicles stolen abroad.

Several Kenyan MP's asked the Government to immediately stop the police crackdown. Lari MP Viscount Kimathi said the Police were "embarrassing" Kenyans by allowing Interpol to intercept cars bought from authorised dealers.

"You really can't blame me when I go to Dubai and buy a car which goes through all procedures until it is registered," said Shitanda, the MP for Malava.

Gatundu North MP Patrick Kariuki Muiruri, whose Toyota VX was among the vehicles netted in the swoop, said the police action was illegal.

Now Interpol need to start on the false passports in circulation for which they have been notified by 97 countries.

For example , on Wednesday 26 April, Afghanistan’s ambassador to Belgium urgently alerted Interpol that blank passports had been stolen from their embassy in Brussels. A number of official seals were also taken during the break-in.

Interpol’s Command and Co-ordination Centre helped Afghanistan share all relevant information with Belgium and with each of Interpol’s 184 member countries through a special notification.

More importantly, the details were added to the world’s only global database of Stolen and Lost Travel Documents (SLTD) maintained by Interpol and currently holds details of nearly 11 million documents from 97 countries.

Now Interpol need to start on the 8Mn false passports in circulation for which they have been notified.