Cape Town cracks down on flashy cars with fake plates

Latest-model Mercedes-Benzes, BMWs, Maseratis and other luxury vehicles cruising through Cape Town’s affluent suburbs are increasingly coming under the scrutiny of the city’s law enforcement.

City authorities, politicians and industry bodies say a growing number of these high-end vehicles with fraudulent number plates and invalid registrations are being linked to suspected organised crime, exposing major gaps in South Africa’s vehicle registration and law enforcement systems.

The issue gained fresh attention after Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis recently publicised the impounding in Parklands of several luxury vehicles that allegedly carried fake or mismatched registration details.

One vehicle, a new Mercedes-Benz GLE, was allegedly registered in official records as a white BMW and has since been seized for criminal investigation.

City of Cape Town safety and security MMC JP Smith said traffic services impounded 1,313 privately owned vehicles between January 2025 and June 2026 for various offences.

Hill-Lewis has repeatedly linked luxury vehicles with fraudulent registrations to broader criminal networks. Following recent vehicle impoundments, he said the authorities had encountered individuals claiming to be cryptocurrency or forex traders driving vehicles with fake registrations or no registration at all.

During a raid two weeks ago, Hill-Lewis questioned the driver of a luxury Mercedes-Benz who said he traded in cryptocurrency. “You’re trading in something,” the mayor told the driver. “It’s just not crypto.”

Metro police, law enforcement and traffic services deal with these cases every day, but local government does not have the investigative powers needed to dismantle the syndicates behind them

—  JP Smith, Cape Town safety and security MMC

Last week three Nigerian nationals were arrested after they were allegedly found driving a Mercedes-Benz displaying fake registration plates and a fraudulent licence disc.

They appeared in the Cape Town magistrate’s court this week, where the matter was postponed to July 22 for a formal bail application.

Smith said municipal law enforcement officers regularly encounter vehicles displaying fraudulent licence discs and number plates, but they lack the legal powers to investigate the criminal syndicates responsible.

“Metro police, law enforcement and traffic services deal with these cases every day, but local government does not have the investigative powers needed to dismantle the syndicates behind them,” Smith said.

He said granting municipalities investigative powers and the ability to refer cases directly to the National Prosecuting Authority would significantly strengthen efforts to combat organised crime linked to fraudulent vehicle registrations and illegal immigration. These included:

• vehicles impounded under the city’s traffic by-laws and other legislation;
• abandoned vehicles removed in terms of the National Road Traffic Act; and
• vehicles parked in a manner that obstructed or endangered other road users.

However, Smith said the city’s data does not distinguish between luxury vehicles and other privately owned cars.

A staff member at a luxury guesthouse in Sea Point, who asked not to be named, told the Sunday Times that many guests who arrive in expensive vehicles identify themselves as cryptocurrency traders. He recalled an incident in which police were called after a guest, a Nigerian national, arrived in a Maserati displaying South African registration plates.

The guesthouse employee said the incident unfolded after an altercation at the property. He said that the driver fled the scene in the luxury vehicle, then left it blocking the road and obstructing other motorists.

Police were called to the scene, where they discovered that the vehicle was not registered despite displaying South African number plates and a licence disc.

The employee said many guests driving luxury vehicles avoid travelling during the day or using major highways. He also claimed that some initially book luxury guesthouses through online accommodation platforms before securing long-term apartment rentals.

Last month the Licence Plate Association of South Africa (Laza) warned that the illegal number plate trade was flourishing. The association estimates that about 250,000 number plates are manufactured each month, with as many as 150,000, roughly 60%, produced illegally.

Fake number plates can reportedly be obtained within minutes, often without sellers asking for a driver’s licence or vehicle registration documents.

Laza president Jan de Lange told the Sunday Times the illegal manufacture and sale of number plates has become a national security concern, affecting law enforcement, road safety and the criminal justice system.

If someone is in the country illegally, how are they able to buy or rent a vehicle worth R2.6m? Investigators now need to follow the money

—  Nicholas Gotsell, DA MP

He said while Laza estimates that up to 60% of number plates produced in South Africa may be illegal, the figure is an informed industry estimate based on years of evidence gathered from registered manufacturers, reports of unlawful trading and observations of unregistered operators, rather than a national forensic audit.

De Lange said the absence of a national traceability system makes it difficult to accurately measure the scale of the problem but warned that fake number plates were frequently linked to stolen vehicles, fraudulent registrations and organised crime.

Laza called on the government to introduce a nationally traceable number plate system, tighten regulation of manufacturers and suppliers, require stricter verification before plates are issued and conduct regular compliance audits to prevent illegal plates from entering the market.

“Protecting the integrity of South Africa’s vehicle identification system is fundamental to public safety and effective law enforcement,” De Lange said.

In a written parliamentary reply to DA questions, trade, industry & competition minister Parks Tau said responsibility for regulating number plates rests with the department of transport, while the South African Bureau of Standards (Sabs) takes action against manufacturers that unlawfully use its certification mark.

Tau said his department, the department of transport, Sabs and Laza held three meetings between September 2025 and February 2026 to tackle the issue of illegal number plate manufacturers.

He said stakeholders agreed to strengthen enforcement against manufacturers producing substandard plates or operating without Sabs accreditation, adding that the department of transport would issue a fresh cease-and-desist notice to a manufacturer previously ordered by the Competition Commission to stop operating illegally after concerns it may still be trading.

DA MP Nicholas Gotsell said recent arrests had raised questions about how some people allegedly in the country illegally were able to acquire or rent luxury vehicles worth millions of rands.

“If someone is in the country illegally, how are they able to buy or rent a vehicle worth R2.6m? Investigators now need to follow the money,” he said.

Earlier this week, Hill-Lewis pledged that, if he is re-elected mayor in November, Cape Town would establish South Africa’s first metro police detective branch to investigate gang-related crime, illegal firearms, drugs and other organised criminal activity.