Forged vehicle number plates fueling car theft and robbery in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is facing a surge in car theft and robbery cases, as criminals use forged number plates to evade detection and sell stolen vehicles to unsuspecting buyers.
According to sources, some police officers and officials from the Central Vehicle Registry (CVR) are involved in the crimes, which are more common in Bulawayo and Harare.
The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the syndicates operate by using machines to cut chassis number matching it with forged registration book.
Smuggled Vehicles
The sources said that some of the vehicles are stolen from South Africa and Botswana, where they are smuggled across the border using illegal entry points or bribing immigration officials. They said that some of the vehicles are also stolen locally, especially from car parks or garages, where they are fitted with new number plates and sold to unsuspecting buyers.
“Some of these buyers end up losing their money and their cars when they are stopped by the police or when they try to register them. They discover that the cars have been reported as stolen or that the number plates and registration books are fake,” one source said.
Another source said that some of the criminals use the forged number plates to commit robberies, as they can easily change them after committing a crime and avoid being traced by the police.
Carrying Cash & Valuables
“They target banks, shops, businesses and individuals who carry cash or valuables. By using different number plates for each robbery and then discard them after escaping. In addition, to using fake number plates to avoid paying toll fees or fines at roadblocks,” the source said.
The sources said that the police are aware of the problem but are reluctant to act because some of them are part of the syndicates or benefit from bribes.
“The police have a database of all registered vehicles and their owners, but they do not use it effectively to verify the authenticity of number plates and registration books. Some of them are corrupt and collude with the criminals or turn a blind eye to their activities. Some of them even sell information or tip off the criminals about police operations,” another source said.
Counterfeit Plates
According to a report by She Corresponds Africa, in some cases, the criminals forge number plates of an accident-damaged or non-functional vehicle that belong to a similar vehicle.
Laastly, it was reported that there are people who are in the business of buying number plates and vehicle registration books of accident- damaged and non-runner vehicles. They then sell to car smugglers to facilitate the registering of smuggled and stolen cars.
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