Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), working with INTERPOL, have recovered a luxury vehicle reported stolen in the United Kingdom after tracing it to a motor vehicle yard in Nairobi.

The grey Land Rover Discovery was found along Nairobi’s Northern Bypass during a nationwide crackdown targeting suspected motor vehicle theft networks operating in Kenya and across international borders.

In a statement released on Saturday, October 17, 2026, the DCI said checks against INTERPOL’s international database confirmed that the vehicle had been reported stolen in the UK. Detectives impounded it and moved it to DCI headquarters for further processing and investigations.

The recovery was part of a week-long operation dubbed Operation Carback II, which brought together several Kenyan law enforcement and regulatory agencies.

According to the DCI, officers physically inspected more than 1,800 vehicles and checked over 260,000 vehicles against INTERPOL records during the exercise.

The operation covered Nairobi, Eastern, Central, Nyanza, Western, Coast and Rift Valley regions, with detectives inspecting motor vehicle yards, showrooms, garages, spare-parts shops, vehicle bazaars and highway checkpoints.

Investigators also uncovered other suspicious vehicle records during the crackdown.

In Thika West, detectives flagged a white Mercedes-Benz Kompressor whose registration details matched those of an orange Suzuki station wagon. The discrepancy raised questions about the Mercedes-Benz’s identity and prompted further investigations.

In Embakasi, officers recovered a forklift whose records identified it as a crawler. Detectives also found that its chassis number had been obliterated, leading to further investigations.

The operation involved the DCI, INTERPOL’s National Central Bureau in Nairobi, the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), Kenya Police Service and Administration Police Service.

Kenya participated alongside other INTERPOL member countries in the international operation under Project Drive Out, conducted in collaboration with the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol).

The DCI said the exercise aimed to identify stolen vehicles and parts, disrupt organised criminal networks and strengthen cooperation between law enforcement agencies across borders.

Investigations into the recovered vehicles and the suspicious registration records are ongoing.