Côte d’Ivoire official accused of tampering with license plate to evade fines

An official in Côte d’Ivoire, identified as both a local elected leader and a central director within the administration, has been accused of tampering with a vehicle license plate to evade automated traffic fines.

The Direction générale des transports terrestres et de la circulation (DGTTC) reported that the vehicle, originally registered as AA-743-JH-01, had the letter ‘J’ modified to a ‘D’. This alteration was allegedly intended to deceive the intelligent transport system used for video-verbalization and automated traffic enforcement.

Following the detection of the anomaly, the national Gendarmerie intercepted the vehicle, which was subsequently impounded for investigation. The owner has accumulated approximately 806,000 F CFA in fines. Authorities indicated that the official's superiors will be notified as the DGTTC processes the case.