PRIVATE vehicle owners operating as illegal rentals have been warned by the Land Transport Authority that their cars would be de-registered if they re-offend.
The warning came as 10 private cars were seized in Sigatoka.
LTA enforcement officer at Sigatoka, Abdul Khan said a number of illegal operators had been under observation for some time and were blatantly hiring out their private vehicles as rentals despite warnings from the authorities.
"The vehicles were seized during Operation Rainbow which is a joint exercise with the police. We have been monitoring the movements of these vehicles and noticed the changing drivers," he said.
"The vehicles were seized on Saturday and released to the owners on Monday after payment of a $100 fine. They have been warned that if they are caught again then their vehicles will be de-registered."
Operation Rainbow also nabbed two mini-buses that were operating contrary to their scheduled routes.
"One of the mini-buses' scheduled route was Suva-Sigatoka-Suva but instead the driver was operating between Cuvu and Sigatoka," Mr Khan said.
A number of people have been charged for using their private vehicles for rental purposes.
Operation Rainbow began in January this year and ends this month.