Police under the Anti-motor Vehicle Theft Unit have arrested a 32-year-old man for allegedly stealing 22 motor vehicles by false pretence.
In an interview on Tuesday, South West Region police deputy public relations officer Beatrice Mikuwa said police received a complaint from Success Civil and Auto Mobile Company that 17 of its motor vehicles that were hired by the suspect could not be located.
She said: “Upon receipt of the complaint, police instituted investigations that led to the arrest of the suspect and upon interview, the suspect confessed to have hired the vehicles and used them as collateral for getting loans.
“He says he was getting money, ranging from K4 million to K14 million per vehicle from
different people.”
Mikuwa said the police have since recovered the 22 vehicles from various people who were holding them as collateral and have charged the suspect with theft by false pretence.
“However, 15 of the 22 vehicles belong to Success Civil and Auto Mobile Company and the remaining seven belong to other people who were also duped in a similar manner,” she said.
Success Civil and Auto Mobile company senior car hire officer Chikondi Brighton said the suspect was their customer.
She said: “He posed as an agent hiring vehicles from our office since July 2024. He was complying with the terms except for April and May 2025 when he had unpaid balances.
“Later, we noted that the cars had been pledged as security for personal loans contrary to our understanding.”
A security expert Sherrif Abubakar Kaisi commended the police for arresting the suspect.
However, he asked the police to take note of the tricks the suspect used to combat motor vehicle theft.
