Harare(New- Ziana) – The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) said on Thursday it will increase traffic patrols to rid the roads of unregistered vehicles, some of which are being used to commit crimes such as robberies.
In a statement, the ZRP said starting from January 15, all vehicles that do not display permanent or temporary number plates would be impounded.
The police expressed concern over the increasing number of unregistered and unlicensed vehicles on the country’s roads.
“Unregistered and plate-less vehicles are also being used to commit crimes such as robberies, murder, kidnapping, rape and other heinous crimes,” it said.
“In order to tame this wanton disregard of traffic laws and the continued commission of crimes by drivers and criminals who use unregistered and plate-less vehicles, the Zimbabwe Republic Police will escalate operations to bring this scourge to an end.
“Effective from 15 January, 2022, the Zimbabwe Republic Police will embark on an operation targeting plate-less, unregistered and unlicensed vehicles in order to bring some semblance of order on our roads and reduce incidents of crime.”
The ZRP urged the public to avoid boarding unregistered or plate-less vehicles as they risked falling victim to crime.
“Those with a penchant for committing crimes are warned that we will deal decisively with them and the full wrath of the law will take its course,” it said.
Zimbabwe has recently been experiencing an increase in robberies, particularly those involving firearms, with the criminals using information supplied by insiders to target their victims.
The practice by citizens of keeping large sums of money in homes, particularly United States dollars,is spurring the robberies.
New Ziana