Police have warned people against buying vehicles with foreign registration number plates as some of them will not have proper documents.

Some of these vehicles are believed to have been stolen, while others were smuggled into the country.

There have been cases during this period where some locals based in neighbouring countries bring in their cars for the holidays.

At the border, they are issued with Temporary Import Permits, which bear the number of days they will be staying in the country.

It is believed that when returning, some will sell their vehicles at cheap prices to some locals without the proper documents.

Most of them will dupe their insurance companies that their vehicles were stolen during the holiday so that they will also be compensated, especially in South Africa.

CID spokesperson Detective Inspector Augustine Zimbili urged people to buy vehicles with proper documents so that they will not have problems in changing ownership.

He said some people were taking advantage of the TIPs to evade import duty and bring in their cars for sale.

“Some of these vehicles could have been stolen, while others could have been smuggled into the country,” Detective Insp Zimbili said.

He said people should be aware of such vehicles, as they will end up losing their hard-earned cash.

They have been urged to seek the services of the CID Vehicle Theft Squad to avoid such incidences. VTS will check through the International Police whether the vehicle could have been stolen or not.

Detective Insp Zimbili said any imported vehicle should have some Zimra documents, registration book and police clearance forms, among others.

In August last year, police launched a blitz targeting imported vehicles believed to have been brought into the country in a well-orchestrated scam involving importers and corrupt officials.

Most of the cars were pre-owned Japanese vehicles bought from Durban, South Africa.

(Source)