Eyes on the road: Mohd Harris and his team conducting Ops Bersepadu in Lahad Datu.
KOTA KINABALU: Motorists have been warned against buying cheap luxury cars from neighbouring Brunei as the vehicles could be “clones,” says the Sabah Road Transport Department (JPJ).
Its director Mohd Harris Ali said there were cases of cloned luxury vehicles being brought into Sabah, and that the state JPJ enforcement team’s intelligence unit was actively gathering information and tracking down the leaders of the syndicate.
“This year, we carried out a raid in Kota Kinabalu but could not make any arrest as the syndicate members got wind of the operation and evaded us,” he told reporters during Ops Bersepadu in collaboration with JPJ, traffic police and the Immigration Department in Lahad Datu.
Mohd Harris said they were continuing to gather intelligence and had instructed their personnel in Sipitang to monitor vehicle smuggling activities.
“We are taking this issue seriously,” he said.
Cloned vehicles can be stolen or old vehicles. Syndicates often use the identity of a legally registered vehicle with a similar make and model to deceive buyers.
Separately, Mohd Harris said the number of motorists driving without a licence in Lahad Datu district increased by 79.78% between January and November this year.
A total of 5,778 cases were recorded compared with 3,214 cases in 2023.
Mohd Harris said the Lahad Datu JPJ had also issued a total of 11,621 summonses for various offences.
“The offence of not having a driving licence or Competent Driving Licence (CDL) was the most common offence at 49.72% (of cases).
“This shows there is a significant increase in the number of cases of drivers without a licence, and we have carried out enforcement throughout this year.”
