MOVES to curb the illegal private rental car trade will see 17 vehicle owners being brought before a tribunal next week.
Land Transport Authority team leader west Joji Suguturaga said 17 vehicles were seized and the owners were expected to appear before LTA chief executive officer Naisa Tuinaceva to face charges.
"Ten are from Nadi and seven from Lautoka. This is a very serious offence and we are sending out a warning to all private rental car dealers that you will be caught if you continue this illegal trade," Mr Suguturaga said.
"We have a special team tasked with identifying who these illegal traders are and we are continuing our work to wipe out private cars being hired out as rental vehicles," he said.
Earlier this month, the LTA seized 19 private vehicles that were operating as taxis.
Five private vehicles were seized last month after being reported for operating as rentals.
In January this year, the illegal private rental scam was uncovered when former Fiji national soccer representative Kelemedi 'Cheetah' Vosuga reported to the authorities after renting a vehicle via the internet.
Mr Vosuga, now an Australian resident, discovered that he had been duped when he arrived at the Nadi International Airport and realised that the vehicle advertised was not a legal rental.