A number plate is supposed to identify a vehicle. Instead, authorities warn it is increasingly becoming a tool for criminals to hide in plain sight. The License Plate Association of South Africa estimates that
more than half of the 250,000 number plates produced every month are illegal, feeding a thriving underground industry that allows anyone to obtain cloned or fraudulent plates with little scrutiny. From
dodging traffic fines and evading law enforcement to facilitating organised crime, experts say the country's number plate system has become dangerously compromised. The warning comes as a separate government investigation uncovers alleged widespread abuse of South Africa's vehicle
registration system. Triggered by a high-profile McLaren crash in Cape Town, investigators discovered hundreds of luxury vehicles allegedly purchased and registered using fraudulent documentation
and questionable Traffic Registration Numbers. With illegal number plates, weak enforcement, and suspected corruption exposing serious vulnerabilities in the system, questions are mounting about
whether South Africa has lost control of one of the most basic tools used to identify vehicles and their owners.