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29 March 2024

No freedom yet for most-wanted Ferrari Enzo 'jailed' in Dubai

Published
By Mohammed Al Sadafy

Dubai Traffic Police has transferred the impounded Enzo Ferrari to a special warehouse to prevent damage, said Captain Khaled Al Kamali.

In a statement to Emirates24|7, Capt. Kamali said, despite Dubai Police saying the Enzo Ferrari is not for sale because Interpol has identified the vehicle as stolen, “every day we are getting offers of purchase, the last of whom was a Lebanese businessman".

He said the Enzo Ferrari was only one of many impounded luxury cars that are being investigated by Interpol for theft. Because of that, none of them will be sold or disposed of in any manner.

Meanwhile, the Enzo Ferrari case in pending in Dubai courts where many parties are disputing its ownership, including the owner of the car showroom that sold it, the buyer and others.

The Enzo Ferrari is one of a limited number of custom-made cars.

Emirati car rally driver Mohammed bin Sulayem owns one of them. The Enzo Ferrari was impounded by Dubai Police after a tip off from the Interpol that it was stolen from a British citizen. The police is awaiting the Dubai Court’s decision before handing it over to its owner.

Thirty-five other luxury cars lie impounded with Dubai Police, including seven vehicles stolen in the UAE.

Nine of the impounded cars are awaiting court verdicts before being handed over to the original owners. The remaining cars were impounded for not renewing their registrations for a long time or for non-payment of accumulated fines.

[Click here to read more about cars with expired registrations]

Through its website, Dubai Police has urged owners whose cars were impounded for more than six months to get their vehicles released by paying the accumulated fines as early as possible.

Otherwise, the cars would be sold by public auction one month after the announcement made in the last week of April.

The total number of impounded cars in Dubai is 309.

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$1 million Ferrari Enzo is not for sale: Dubai Police

Many British, Americans, Indians and Russians have asked to buy a limited edition red Ferrari Enzo, that has been gathering dust at the Dubai Police car pound, along with several other luxury cars.

Despite rumours of an impending auction circulating around the world, Dubai Police told Emirates 24|7 that the cars have been seized as part of evidence from various crimes such as robbery, and are not for sale.

Captain Khalid Al Kamali, said 9 luxury cars have been seized as they were part of thefts. Seven of them were stolen from their owners within the UAE, and two cars from abroad.

"The one Ferrari Enzo and the another regular Ferrari are required by Interpol. So, the nine cars are not for sale."

The police have received many calls from traders - Britons, Americans, Russians and Indians want to buy the Ferrari Enzo, worth about a $1 million, after a report published by Emirates 24|7 on luxury cars seized at the General Directorate of Traffic in Dubai.

Al Kamali said the cars on Interpol notice are usually stolen from another country. "They shall not be disposed of, except in accordance with procedures specified in coordination between the real owner of the car, Interpol and the Interior Ministry in the UAE," he added.

There are more than 35 luxury cars at the Dubai Police car pound of which, nine [including the Ferari Enzo] are not for sale based on reports of theft.

The rest are held for various reasons including failure to renew the licence of the car for a long time and non-payment of accumulated fines.

Also, some are held as they were involved in accidents and their owners fled from the scene, and some cars are held at the request of the investigation, or issues still pending in court.

The nine stolen cars include the two Ferraris (both red), yellow Porsche, silver Porsche, black Corvette, silver BMW and three black Mercedes.

Capt Al Kamali stressed that vehicles that are booked based on claims or reports of domestic or international theft cannot be part of the auctions organised by the Traffic Department of Dubai.

Auctions are for all other cars that have been with the polie for more than 6 months, have not been involved in crime and have been unclaimed by their owners. According to Law 34 of 2008, such cars can be auctioned following an announcement published in the local press 30 days before the date of the auction.

Auctioned Dubai cars go for just Dh10,700

Seized cars were sold at a public auction for an average price of some Dh10,700.

The General Directorate of Traffic in Dubai held an auction on Wednesday in which 127 cars were put on the block.

They sold for Dh1.36 million.

These cars had been lying unclaimed at the police car pound for more than seven months.

Cars that have been with the police for more than 6 months, have not been involved in any crime and have been unclaimed by their owners, can be auctioned. According to Law 34 of 2008, such cars can be auctioned following an announcement published in the local press 30 days before the date of the auction.

31% abandoned cars not retrieved by owners

Thirty-one per cent of owners of neglected or abandoned cars confiscated by the municipality do not recover the vehicles within six months from the date of confiscation, according to statistics of Dubai Municipality.

The percentage of owners who do not recover their abandoned cars fell from 41.5 per cent in 2010 to 31 per cent this year.

The Waste Department of Dubai Municipality tracks abandoned and neglected vehicles in the parking yards and public places and then fixes a notice to the cars asking owners to report to the municipality within 15 days from the date of the notice, failing which the vehicle will be towed to the municipality’s scrap yard and kept there for six months.

The municipality gives the car owner a deadline of six months during which time he can retrieve his vehicle after paying a fee of Dh710.

The municipality will auction the car if it is not retrieved by the owner within six months

1,492 usable cars were confiscated in 2010, out of which 875 (58.5 per cent) were recovered by their owners. In 2011, 1,189 cars were seized, out of which 823 (69 per cent) were claimed by their owners.

Ibrahim Yaqoub, director of contracts at Dubai Municipality, said the car owners’ financial problems forcing them to leave the country was one of the reasons for abandoning their cars. Sometimes, people go on vacation, leaving the car in a parking lot and are surprised to know that the car has been auctioned off when they return.

The numbers of the car bodies taken from the streets of Dubai last year were 1,221, which decreased to 1,132 in 2011.

He said Dubai Municipality will launch a new service in 2012, which is to send SMS to owners of cars abandoned in streets, warning them that the municipality will confiscate their cars within 15 days. He added the department is coordinating with RTA which has the numbers of the cars.

Luxury cars lie impounded by Dubai Police

Thirty-five luxury cars of different makes, totally worth tens of millions of dirhams, are currently impounded by Dubai Police at Al Qusais, according to Major General Mohammed Saif Al Zaffin, director of the General Department of Dubai Traffic Police.

Among them are four Ferraris, one of them Enzo class valued at about a million dollars.

There are also Porsche, Corvette, Infiniti, Range Rover, BMW, Mercedes and Dodge cars among the impounded vehicles, Al Zaffin said.

Traffic fines assessed by the court on some of these vehicles come to about Dh100,000, he said.

Some of the cars were stolen, some are involved in crime, some were confiscated for debt repayment defaults and some for non-payment of traffic fines, he added. Some were left unmoved on the street for long periods of time.

In some cases, the cars were seized because the drivers had fled after their vehicles were involved in accidents.

"The Ferrari Enzo, wanted by Interpol, was seized by the CID. Its British owner had left it in the parking lot for more than 20 months after traffic fines had piled up,” Al Zaffin said.

He said 23 luxury cars had accumulated fines ranging from Dh98,300 to Dh100,000.

Ten of the impounded luxury cars belong to Emiratis, seven to Europeans, one to a Russian expatriate and the remaining six are owned by companies, he added.

According to Dubai’s Domestic Law No.34 of 2008, the luxury cars will be auctioned six months after impounding, after advertising in Arabic and foreign language newspapers.

He compared the impounded luxury cars to football players bought with millions but left sitting on the bench without playing. Some of the cars were driven by youth who did not buy them with their own money, so they did not know its value, he said.