Sudan police ‘tackle vehicle thefts’ after restoration of electronic data system

The Sudanese police have managed to restore access to all their electronic data systems, police spokesperson Brig Gen Fathelrahman El Tom told Radio Dabanga yesterday. The police received more than 29,000 reports of vehicle theft up to date and has notified Interpol of vehicles that were smuggled abroad.

Speaking to Dabanga’s Sudan Files radio programme, El Tom announced that the police were able to recover all electronic systems with data related to the Civil Registry.

He justified the absence of the police in many areas in the country by saying that “as a civil service, we do not work in conflict areas”.

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized the Sudatel Data Centre in Khartoum on December 6, where about 75 per cent of data from government and private sector institutions is stored, notably the Ministry of Interior Affairs, the Civil Registry, and several banks. 

Stolen vehicles

Following the outbreak of war in mid-April, the police created an electronic reporting platform that helps Sudanese people report all stolen items, violations, and crimes committed against them.

RSF troops have reportedly been “stealing anything they can lay their hands on” including property and cars in the areas under their control.

In early August, the Sudanese Golden Arrow Group, the exclusive agent for Toyota, Hino, and Yamaha in the country, reported the theft of 1,192 Toyota vehicles, 173 Hino trucks, and a large number of motorcycles from its showrooms and warehouses in Khartoum and Khartoum North (Khartoum Bahri) since the outbreak of the war in mid-April.

“The platform enables the police to carry out its administrative duty in issuing criminal notices and bringing the accused to justice,” the police spokesperson explained.

According to the “accurate, daily statistics from the police’s electronic platform”, the latest data indicate that the number of stolen vehicles in Sudan exceeds 29,000.

“The police also immediately issued a ban order on stolen vehicles through the traffic system, leading to the recovery of more than 100 vehicles up to date. When the ‘new owners’ came to conduct licensing procedures at car licensing centres, the vehicles were seized and the perpetrators were arrested”, El Tom said.

Regarding the vehicles that were smuggled out of Sudan, the police has notified Interpol, “to ensure they are recovered to their owners according to legal means”.

Missing

As for the many missing persons, the police are giving them special attention, he said. “Police work on this subject, however, is hindered by the fact that the war is still raging in areas where these people went missing.”

The police however reassure families of missing people that “the legal procedures are complete”, enabling the police to “immediately begin their work in searching and investigating how these people went missing and write criminal reports.

“This work, however, requires examining bodies and other procedures that are not available at the present time unless the situation stabilises,” El Tom added.

He further warned all Sudanese not to deal with the newly established ‘federal police force’ in areas controlled by the RSF, and vowed to take legal measures against them “as soon as the situation stabilises”.