The Chief Executive Office of Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) Julius Kotey has disclosed that he deliberately delayed the release of new vehicle number plates as part of a strategy to expose individuals involved in the production and sale of counterfeit plates,

According to Kotey, the decision was taken after the authority received intelligence about a major operation producing fake DV plates and other vehicle-related documents at Lapaz in Accra.

Speaking in video shared on x sighted by GhanaWeb on August 15, 2026, the DVLA CEO said the authority intentionally withheld the release of new plates so that counterfeiters who had already produced fake plates would be easier to identify.

“I even thought I had done well until I got a hint from someone that there is a corner in Lapaz where they do fake DV plates,” he said.

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Kotey explained that the decision to delay the release was strategic because the counterfeiters had reportedly produced large quantities of fake plates and were waiting for the DVLA to release its legitimate plates before putting theirs into circulation.

“Because I didn't release the DV plates, theirs couldn't also come out. So we intentionally delayed the release of the new ones to track those issuing the fake ones,” he stated.

He added that the strategy was not disclosed to the police or the public at the time because doing so could have compromised the operation. “Nobody knew and the police didn't know,” Kotey said.

The DVLA CEO said the authority subsequently conducted an operation at Lapaz, where officials allegedly discovered a large quantity of counterfeit vehicle-related materials.

According to him, the operation targeted a container suspected to be connected to the production and distribution of the fake documents and plates.

“We went for an operation in Lapaz and broke into one container and we discovered more than 200,000 fake insurance stickers, fake e-books and fake DV plates,” he disclosed.

He said the individuals allegedly involved in the operation would be prosecuted.

Kotey further claimed that the counterfeit plates and other materials had already been distributed to various locations and were being kept in readiness for release once the DVLA introduced its new plates.

He also raised concerns about the amount of money allegedly being generated by the illegal trade in counterfeit number plates.

He said while the DVLA sells its plates for about GH¢417, some operators in the illegal market allegedly sell fake plates for between GH¢1,500 to GH¢2,000.

Kotey said the scale of the alleged illegal activity could involve tens of millions of Ghana cedis annually.

He noted that the DVLA had recorded significant demand for number plates, with the authority issuing increasing quantities while counterfeit operators allegedly took advantage of the market.

“Some even sell one DV plate for GH¢1,500 to GH¢3,000, while DVLA was selling it for GH¢417,” he said.

Kotey also defended his decision to delay the release of the plates, saying the move was criticised by some people who did not understand the reasons behind it.

According to the DVLA CEO, the authority subsequently recorded a 67% increase in revenue, which he cited as evidence of improvements following measures implemented under his administration.

Kotey said the fight against counterfeit vehicle documents and number plates would continue as the DVLA seeks to protect government revenue and prevent fraudulent operators from exploiting motorists.

Watch the video below

DVLA deliberately didn’t release new DV plates to crack down on criminals: Julius Kotey, CEO of DVLA. pic.twitter.com/zZN6hhk5Lg

— BARNES (@IdanBarnes) August 14, 2026