Stolen vehicles are good business

Cases of car theft in Herat and Farah are on the rise. The police fear the stolen vehicles are being used in armed attacks.

In the first three months of the year, some 100 vehicles were reported stolen in Herat province. Abdul Rawoof Ahmadi, spokesperson for the Herat Police says motorbikes have also been reported missing.

Head of Herat traffic police Aminullah Maihanyar says some 20 cars and 25 motorcycles were stolen in a span of two weeks. According to Farah Police chief Toryalai Abdiani, the Taleban use the stolen cars in the province.

Following the arrest of 19 people, the police believe there are three gangs of robbers operating in Herat.

Police chief General Abdul Majid Rozi says one of the gangs is based in Herat City. “The group has been identified and six members are in jail,” he says. According to him, the group had two ways of disposing off with a vehicle: it would either be repainted and sold or dismantled completely for its parts.

Vehicle-thieves are also active in the north-west and west of Herat, in districts along the border.

Police Chief Rozi says sometimes the business is so specialised. The vehicle thieves in west and north-west Herat deal mainly in motorbikes stolen from the Shar e Naw neighbourhood in Herat City. He claims the robbers have the support of “influential individuals”. But he did not identify them by name.

A security officer who spoke to Killid on the condition of anonymity says in some cases of car theft, the police have assisted the robbers. In his opinion, there are also fewer arrests because of the involvement of individuals in the police force. He cites the case of the “chehel bachaha” or 40 boys group, among the most active gang in Kohsan district, Herat. According to him, the gang has the support of government servants, and no one dares to take them on. To the question why Kohsan, he says, “The district is on the border …(where) with the help of the police, Kohsan has become a centre for car thieves.”

Thriving business

However, General Rozi, Herat Police chief, dismisses talk of police involvement in gangs stealing cars. It is possible the thieves are wearing police uniform when they steal the cars to fool people, he says. The police recently made 13 arrests of persons involved in car robberies, he says.

Mohammad Nayeem Ghoyour, head of intelligence in 606 Ansar Zone Commandment in western Afghanistan says vehicle stealing is only on the increase. Herat is particularly vulnerable because it is more prosperous and more people own vehicles here than in any other province. According to him, areas in the provincial capital like Darb Kandahar and Spin Aday are thriving markets for spare parts cannibalised from stolen vehicles.

Meanwhile, the security officer who spoke only if his identity was not revealed told Killid that districts like Ghorian, Kohsan, Enjil and Guzara are where stolen vehicles are bought and sold. He says the lack of security is reason for the booming stolen vehicle market. Intelligence chief Ghoyour says high-end models of cars that are stolen in Herat are taken to Farah, Kandahar and Helmand. Those that have right-hand steering are driven across the border into Pakistan.

Head of intelligence, Herat Police headquarters, Abdul Ghani Omarzad, says police found seven stolen vehicles that had been brought for repainting in a motor garage in Khoja Ghaltan, Herat City. Police arrested and interrogated some 32 people from the workshop.

No safety at all

Unfortunately for the police, most people think they are not vigilant enough. Ghulam, a taxi driver, says his car was stolen a few days back. “I performed my morning prayer and drove to Tank Mawlawi Saheb where two men, roughly 30 to 35 years, asked me to take them to Arya Tank. I agreed to take them for 100 Afs, but when I started the car, one of the men who were sitting in the back seat, put a pistol to my neck and threatened to shoot if I didn’t quietly hand over the taxi to them. I got out of the driving seat to save my life, and they drove away with my car,” he says.

But Ghulam was lucky. Soon after he lodged a complaint with the police, his car was tracked down and restored to him. Another Herat resident was not so fortunate. His Corolla 2005 was stolen from outside the gate of his house just 10 minutes after he had parked it. The car, which he says was his only big investment, has not been found.

Those who have lost vehicles blame local authorities and security forces for the lapses in law and order.

They may have a point since Sayed Habib Hashemi, who heads the complaints commission in the Herat Provincial Council says many of those in gangs stealing cars are serial offenders. “At present, some groups that are active in Herat have members who have been arrested frequently by the security forces.” Dr Mahdi Hadid who is in charge of security in the Herat provincial council feels only the fear of strict punishment will deter car thieves. So far only eight dossiers of those arrested in cases of car robberies have been referred to the Attorney General’s Office, according to Gul Ahmad Ramesh, deputy in the AG’s Office, Herat.