KIGALI - Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) has impounded eighteen vehicles for using Rwandan number plates illegally. The RRA acting director of the protection department Seth Muhirwa, told Sunday Times on Thursday at his Kimihurura offices that vehicles from neighboring countries were getting Rwandan number plates illegally.

"What these people do is to visit a garage and get old Rwandan number plates and fix them on the foreign vehicles to avoid buying genuine ones,” Muhirwa explained.

"The underground work has been going on for quite sometime until our competent intelligence network netted them. Many we arrested come from Gatsata and have been arraigned before court.”

Muhirwa suspects that the suspects wanted to avoid paying taxes.

"Sometimes they not only change registration number but also the chassis number is swapped with that of the written off vehicles,” he said. A another official in RRA who preferred to speak on the condition of anonymity said that 
"Driving a car with illegal number plates is not something that should be taken lightly, it is a violation of the provisions of Motor Vehicle Ordinance and Rules and are not only punishable with fine, but can also lead to confiscation of vehicle,” said an official of RRA.

He urged traffic police to inspect and check regularly the condition of number plates because the more this behavior becomes commonplace, the easier it will be for real criminals to hide.

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