DVLA seizes over 130 vehicles over suspected cloning, import duty evasion

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) has seized more than 130 vehicles suspected of being cloned or imported into Ghana through channels intended to evade the payment of import duties.

The development follows the introduction of vehicle clone-detection technology as part of efforts to strengthen the integrity of Ghana’s vehicle registration system.

DVLA Chief Executive Officer, Julius Neequaye Kotey, said the authority had integrated clone-detection machines, known as OBD II scanners, into its vehicle verification and registration processes.

Mr Kotey disclosed this in a Facebook post on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, explaining that the scanners were designed to detect vehicles brought into the country through unapproved channels using the Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) of legitimate vehicles.

He said the technology would help tackle instances where fraudsters duplicate the VINs of genuine vehicles awaiting registration, resulting in legitimate vehicle owners being wrongly flagged in the DVLA’s system as having already registered their vehicles.

According to the DVLA CEO, the deployment of the scanners forms part of broader measures to improve the reliability and security of Ghana’s national vehicle register.

The authority said the technology provides a proactive layer of security by identifying suspected cloned vehicles during the verification and registration stages, instead of waiting for fraudulent registrations to be detected after the process has been completed.

Since the introduction of the clone-detection systems, the DVLA has intercepted and seized more than 130 vehicles suspected of being cloned or imported into Ghana without the required duties being paid.

The authority has subsequently established a temporary arrangement with the Customs Division to enable affected vehicle owners to regularise their vehicles and settle any outstanding import duty obligations.