Police in Rwai Nairobi has arrested two middle-aged men after their vehicle number plate was suspected to be fake.
According to reports, the two who were driving a Toyota Prado tried to escape after being waved down by police officers at Rwai center before their vehicle veered off the road and landed in a ditch.
The said vehicle with a suspicious registration KBR 742S number had two of its numbers 7 and S not visible.
The vehicle has already been towed away and the suspects taken into police custody to assist police in investigations. It is suspected that the vehicle is one among many being used in the area to carry out suspicious activities.
In January 2019, Kenyan authorities unmasked a syndicate that had been cloning number plates and fraudulently registering cars for sale.
In the process, police arrested 19 employees of the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) in a bid to smash the suspicious activity believed to be aiding terrorists.
Police warned Kenyans against buying vehicles whose details they have not verified with registered dealers, saying con men have even infiltrated the NTSA portal.
On average, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations usually handles 10 cases of fake and duplicated number plates in a month.
These plates are mostly mounted on illegally smuggled vehicles, stolen vehicles and those used by criminals.
Motorists will from January 2019 acquire new high-tech vehicle number plates after the government sought designs from three undisclosed countries.
According to correctional Services, Principal Secretary Zainab Hussein, the State targets to replace the current plates by January with motorists expected to pay Sh3,000 for each.
The push for the smart plates comes in the wake of increased duplication of the current ones by tax- evasion cartels together with dangerous criminals operating in the country.