Rwanda National Police (RNP) yesterday handed over to their British counterparts, a stolen Range Rover Sport vehicle that was recovered in Rwanda last year.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Tony Kuramba, the Commissioner for Interpol and Cooperation in RNP, handed over the vehicle and its supporting documents to David Ward, the UK National Crime Agency regional liaison officer.

The posh vehicle, stolen in the UK, was impounded on February 2, last year, at Rusizi border post as it crossed into Rwanda from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.

Ward said that the car was stolen in the UK in September 2014.

"We got the news of the recovery from Interpol Rwanda that contacted Interpol UK, which, in turn, informed the liaison office to help with investigation in Rwanda,” said Ward.

"There’s a massive problem of stolen vehicles in UK, particularly cars with high monetary value like range rovers, that are often transported to East Africa,” Ward added.

"Rwanda is a little bit different… it [car] was impounded and they quickly notified the UK authorities; it was also well kept by the Rwanda authorities.”

The car, which had been given new Congolese logs and number plate CGO 6810AB/22, was found on the Interpol alert list of stolen or missing equipment.

It had been sold to a Congolese businessman at $35,000 by a Burundian national, who was also arrested before crossing to Burundi.

At the time, the Congolese buyer had made a down payment of $25,000 to the Burundian suspect.

"The Congolese purchased it innocently; he could have lost more money to the thief if the Police hadn’t intercepted them as they tried to leave Rwanda, so they did an excellent job,” Ward said.

The vehicle will be driven to Kampala, Uganda tomorrow where about 30 other stolen vehicles have been recovered, before they are all repatriated back to the UK, according to Ward.

Reacting on the partnership between UK and Rwanda National Police, Ward said, "We have ongoing good relationship with RNP, we have provided them with equipment and training, we have liaised with them on a number of items of criminal nature. That will be carried on; we will try to make sure that if any other vehicle comes through Rwanda, it is impounded and repatriated.”

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