Monday, November 3, 2003		Feature

‘Trakking’ stolen cars in Karachi
David Brunnstrom

Pakistani operators work at a car-tracking station in Karachi. With the click of a computer mouse, a satellite tracking system allows remote operators to seize control of the stolen vehicle, bring it to a grinding halt and snap its locks shut.

UNPLEASANT shock awaits car thieves in Karachi. With the click of a computer mouse, a satellite tracking system allows remote operators to seize control of the stolen vehicle, bring it grinding to a halt, and snap its locks shut as the police swoops in.

"One of my friends’ cars was snatched, but he got it back within an hour because of this system," says Saleem Khan, owner of Samad Rent-a-Car Co. in the grimy Pakistani port city. He has had the system installed in six of his new cars.

"In Karachi, there are a lot of incidents of car theft and snatching," he says. "It’s very useful. We feel more secure." The police says nearly 300 cars are stolen in Karachi every month.

Behind the satellite system, known as Trakker, stands businessman and crime fighter Jameel Yusuf, who won fame last year by helping the police track down the killers of US journalist Daniel Pearl by using computers to analyse mobile phone records.

His firm, Trakker Pvt Ltd - a collaboration with South Africa’s DigiCore Holdings, which provided 30 per cent of the $1.5 million investment - uses satellite technology to track and recover vehicles.

Ever since it was established in 1998, Trakker has recovered more than 1,000 vehicles, thanks to an implanted device that uses Global Positioning System (GPS) technology to signal a vehicle’s location via SMS messages over a mobile phone network.

At Trakker’s control centre in Karachi, operators follow the movement of thousands of vehicles on computer screens.

The coordinates of a stolen car can be given to the police to guide patrol cars to the scene. And mouse clicks can immobilise the car and lock its seat belts, doors and bonnet.

Primarily, a fleet-management system used by car hire and trucking firms, Yusuf says it has been adapted to the needs of Pakistan where continued fears of kidnapping and other violent crime mean significant consumer demand.

The system is a big help, says Abdul Razaque Cheema, a senior police superintendent who specialises in finding stolen vehicles tells Reuters. "But it’s expensive and only owners of expensive cars can afford it. In Karachi, snatching of smaller cars is also rampant, but their owners find Trakker’s charges too high," he says.

Trakker’s Chief Operating Officer Omar Hatmi says the system has now been installed in 12,000 vehicles in Pakistan and attracts 500 new customers a month, paying up to Rs (Pak) 43,000 for installation and Rs 1,000 monthly.

Additional subscriptions allow customers to track their vehicles via the Internet or cellphone.