It is almost everybody’s dream to buy or own a car, but it can be more devastating and heartbreaking to find out that the vehicle you have bought is stolen.
The Director Interpol and International Relations, Dr. Fred Yiga has advised members of the public who intend to buy cars to collect as much information as possible about the particular vehicle they are buying for verification by Interpol to avoid losing money as a result of buying a stolen car which could be impounded.
“Before you pay or buy the vehicle, ask the dealer to give you details of that car, chassis number, engine number, year of manufacture, colour, and make of vehicle, then bring photocopies of documents and we shall scan them through our system to establish if the vehicle is safe or not,” Dr. Yiga said.
He added that the process of car verification is non-tedious and results are got within a few minutes, but attracts a charge of government revenue of only Shs 15,000 that is paid in the bank.
For those who lose their cars through theft, Dr Yiga advised the public to quickly notify Interpol because they have the mechanism to swing into action and have the vehicle impounded before it is driven out of the border.
“Information sharing is very critical, if your vehicle is to be recovered, we communicate to our borders to impound a specific vehicle that we have got information that it’s stolen,” Yiga said, adding that once such stolen vehicles cross borders, Interpol liaises immediately with their counterpart across borders. “Many of them have been intercepted and returned,” he said.
One can report any incident of stolen cars or any cross border crimes on 0717851821 or email Interpol@upf.go.ug or physically contact them at plot 12 Mabua Road, Kololo.
Dr. Yiga added that Interpol has created desks that manage different aspects of international cross border crimes which includes; vehicle theft, human trafficking, wildlife crimes, lost travel documents, lost and found persons, drug trafficking, small arms, and cybercrime.
Interpol and International Relations is one of the Uganda Police Directorates that deals with international crimes.
