How police beat vehicle theft syndicate in Tanzania

Dar es Salaam. One Sunday morning in July 2014, in Mbezi, a suburb of Dar es Salaam, Neema woke up only to find her parking lot empty. She was puzzled as her car was missing from where she had parked the previous night, and her beloved dog lay there dead as well.

She contacted the relevant authorities and later the police but the vehicle was never recovered. All she was left with were pictures of the SUV which she had bought some two years back.

She is not alone, Ms Lilian Chanzi (not real name) told The Citizen that her Rav4 new model was stolen in 2014 at around 10pm at gun point on her way home. “It was the first time a gun was pointed on my neck by masked thugs as I was opening the gate. They ordered me to shut my mouth,” said the soft speaking lady. Just like the first victim, she reported the incident at a police station, the car was recovered in Temeke District four days later.

“It was the skeleton that remained after everything had been looted. But, investigation established the person behind the racket, though I won’t reveal his identity,” she said.

A similar experience was shared by Mr Innocent Asenga, a resident of Mwenge in Dar es Salaam that occurred at the Magufuli Hostel along Sam Nujoma Road in 2016.

“It was a very strange experience. A car behind me over speeded, overtook and blocked me. Like a movie, two people holding revolvers ordered me out, entered in my car and disappeared with it,” he said.

Mr Asenga said not only did he lose the car, but also other properties including mobile phones, a wallet, a laptop and several others. The car was never recovered.

This was at the height of car theft in Dar es Salaam and other cities across the country as thieves targeted high end vehicles which either ended up as used spare parts or crossed borders.

What do they do?

A crime expert who is also a retired senior police officer said, once a vehicle is stolen, criminals either strip the vehicle of its parts, or get fake plate numbers, repaint it and send it across the border.

“A truck full of spare parts can cross borders with bogus importation documents. Immigration and customs officials are also sometimes involved in the deal,” he said.

According to the source, once in another country, spare parts are sold at open-air markets including Kariobangi in Nairobi, Katwe in Kampala, and Gerezani in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The criminal gang would move spare parts to different countries across the East African Community (EAC) including Burundi, Rwanda and the DRC.

Regional syndicate

Evidence in the past pointed at a regional syndicate in East Africa that makes sure stolen cars cannot be traced. Worse still enough such incidents have not spared even the highest office holders on land. In 2018 and 2014 cars committed to President Uhuru Kenyatta’s office were stolen and recovered in Tanzania and Uganda. A similar incident occurred in 2018 when a vehicle attached to President Yoweri Museveni’s office was recovered the following year in Kenya.

Statistics

Available data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) five years later shows that motor vehicles and motorcycle theft has significantly declined in Tanzania. NBS data shows that between 2016 and 2020, motor vehicle theft decreased by 61 percent from 453 incidents in 2016 to 175 cases in 2020.

During the same period, NBS statistics show that the motorcycle theft trend declined from 5,633 to 4,823 equivalent to 14 percent.

Police spokesman David Misime attributed the decline to execution of strategies put to identify, prevent and respond to such incidents.

“Searches, routine operations and thorough investigations are part of the strategies. Solid evidence enough to convict suspects has been another area of emphasis,” he said.

He said law enforcers’ collaboration with motorcycle taxi operators famously known as bodaboda has been largely increased and provided modern protection methods.

“We’ve also strengthened cooperation with regional and international organisations such as the Eastern African Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation, the Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation and the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol),” he said.

According to him, the Police have sometimes carried joint operations aimed at confiscating stolen cars and motorcycles with such bodies.

A motorcycle operator stationed at Mbezi Luis Bus Terminal here, Mr Yohana Msigwa said motorcycles’ theft have declined as compared to the past, citing the decrease to improved unity among operators.

“Customers asking for transport to places famous for such incidents are downplayed. Unlike the previous time when operators themselves were thieves, the trend has now been reversed,” said Mr Msigwa.

A car transporter to neighbouring countries, Mr Hassan Mohamed said enhanced security including increased check-points in almost all highways has reduced the incidents and increased drivers’ confidence.

“In the past, vehicle transporters to neighboring countries had to travel in a company to avoid the risk of attack and theft from gunmen,” he said.