Detectives have arrested 11 suspects in connection to a high-level motor vehicle registration fraud at the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA).
The investigation was conducted by Cybercrime sleuths based at the National Forensic Laboratory, who discovered that crooked officials were operating back office accounts to register motor vehicles fraudulently.
The main suspect, Jimmy Kibet Wayans, was arrested at a house in Lavington where he operated a suspicious account that had infiltrated the TIMS system to illegally introduce vehicles.
Furthermore, investigations reveal that the suspect, who is not an employee of NTSA, had major back office roles and was in control of several other fictitious user accounts in the NTSA system.
Detectives are also investigating how a deactivated account belonging to a former ICT officer at NTSA was reactivated and used for back office transactions, several months after he had tendered his resignation in July 2022.
Three NTSA employees Anthony Waithaka, David Migwi, and David Kimaren were also arrested, in the elaborate criminal enterprise that also involves officials from the Kenya Revenue Authority.
The ongoing probe has been sanctioned by the DCI Director, Mr Mohamed Amin, and the Roads and Transport Cabinet Secretary visited NTSA headquarters to assure Kenyans that sanity would be restored at the agency.
“Members of the public are cautioned to be wary of brokers who obtain money from them in the pretext of expediting the processing of motor vehicle logbooks, reflective plates, and driving licenses, instead being advised to make use of the TIMS portal.” DCI warned.
The suspects are charged with various offenses, including false pretence registration, unauthorised access, intent to commit further offense, and unauthorised interference, all under the Computer Misuse and Cyber Crime Act.