Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have seized a Land Rover Discovery that had been reported stolen in the United Kingdom, marking a significant success in a transnational vehicle-theft crackdown.
The vehicle, a grey Land Rover Discovery bearing registration KCY 001J, was recovered after a raid on a motor-vehicle yard along Nairobi County’s Northern Bypass during the week-long Operation Carback II.
Checks against the INTERPOL database confirmed the car’s theft status, and the seized vehicle was escorted to DCI Headquarters for further processing.
Operation Carback II, which concluded on Friday, was led by DCI’s INTERPOL National Central Bureau in Nairobi (NCB-Nairobi) and its Operations Directorate, working alongside the National Transport and Safety Authority, Kenya Revenue Authority, Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Kenya Bureau of Standards, Kenya Police Service and Administration Police Service.
Kenya participated in a simultaneous global effort coordinated under Project Drive Out with the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol), aiming to disrupt organised motor-vehicle crime networks and recover stolen assets.
DCI officials said the initiative sought to identify and retrieve stolen vehicles and parts while strengthening cross-border law-enforcement cooperation.
A similar sweep in 2024 saw investigators inspect more than 1,800 vehicles and cross-check over 260,000 records against the INTERPOL database, with teams drawn from Nairobi, Eastern, Central, Nyanza, Western, Coast and Rift Valley regions targeting yards, showrooms, spare-parts shops, garages, bazaars and highway checkpoints.
In addition to the Land Rover, officers uncovered a white Mercedes-Benz Kompressor registered KBZ 325J in Thika West Sub-County, prompting questions about its identity and registration, and a forklift with registration KAD 132K in Embakasi, which was referred to DCI Embakasi for further investigation.
DCI reiterated that intelligence-led operations, coordinated enforcement and international information-sharing are essential to dismantle motor-vehicle theft syndicates operating within Kenya and abroad, and affirmed its commitment to continue collaborating with national, regional and international partners to combat such crime.
