[Tanzania] Don’t leave keys with car washers, police caution motorists

POLICE in Dar es Salaam have pleaded with motorists to take keys with them when leaving their vehicles at car wash facilities, saying unscrupulous car washers were behind car thefts now on the rise in the city.

Last week, a man was apprehended with a stolen car in Dar es Salaam city centre a few hours after it was stolen on the outskirts of the city.

A similar incident was reported in October in which a car stolen in the city was impounded in Bagamoyo. Reports suggest that unscrupulous car washers make a copy of the keys to later steal the cars left under their charge.

Dar es Salaam Special Zone Police Crime Officer, Mr Camilius Wambura, said in the city yesterday that a number of car theft cases in the metropolis had gone up this year but he could not go into details to point out the number of cases reported this year.

Mr Wambura was speaking on behalf of Dar es Salaam Special Zone Police Commander, Mr Simon Sirro, after receiving two computer sets and office furniture worth 8m/- from the Tanzania Postal Bank (TPB) for the Criminal Investigation Department in the Special Police Zone.

“The donation will facilitate us to uplift the level of efficiency in activities. One computer set will be handed over to Cyber Crime Unit and the other to the anti car theft unit in the special zone of police,” he said.

Acting TPB Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr Jema Msuya, hailed the police force for improving security, calling upon other institutions to come out to support the force to unravel various challenges facing them. “We believe the donation will help to improve different services offered by the police to civilians and institutions,” said the TPB CEO.

source-www.dailynews.co.tz