South Darfur government buys 181 illegally smuggled vehicles: sources
June 18, 2016 (NYALA) – The government of South Darfur state has purchased dozens of the illegally smuggled vehicles locally known as “Boko Haram” to meet the substantial shortfall in government cars.
He said the purchase came after the price of these vehicles suddenly dropped by more than 60%, stressing that the cars have been assigned to the heads of the committees at the state’s Legislative Council besides the directors of ministries and government departments.
Prices of the illegally smuggled cars went down following reports that charges have been filed at the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) pertaining to the entry of looted and stolen cars into Darfur.
According to the source, South Darfur state suffers from significant shortfall of vehicles that was caused by the sale of the government cars to the former employees at low prices.
A second official source, who also spoke to the Sudan Tribune on the condition of anonymity, said the number of vehicles smuggled from neighboring countries is on the rise despite the fact that customs procedures had stopped since last December.
He described the purchase of the vehicles by the government of South Darfur as explicit violation of the Sudan Customs Act and the Traffic Police Act, saying that all imported cars must be subjected to the customs law.
“Even the vehicles that belong to the presidency are not exempted from the customs act,” he said.
The same source stressed that the vehicles that don’t carry license plates are the major cause of the lawlessness situation in the state, pointing to the need to implement strict measures to seize the unlicensed vehicles.
However, he added that most of the owners of the smuggled cars belong to the regular security forces which make it difficult to enforce the law.
South Darfur has witnessed over the last two years a wave of kidnapping, murder and looting which prompted state authorities to declare an indefinite emergency situation and impose a daily curfew.
The state also banned riding of motorcycles by more than one person, holding weapons while wearing civilian clothes, vehicles driving around without license plates, and wearing a Kadamool (a turban which covers the face).
Earlier this month, a joint campaign between the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) and the Traffic Police in North Darfur state has led to the seizure of dozens of vehicles illegally smuggled from neighbouring countries.
Gunmen commonly use vehicles and motorcycles that don’t hold license plates to carry out killing and looting crimes.
Commissioner of El-Fasher locality Al-Tigani Abdallah Salih had earlier said that directives were issued to monitor and stop unlicensed cars, pointing that the vehicles which were seized have increased crime rate in the state.
(ST)