Law enforcement now targeting fake paper license plates on Harris County toll roads
HOUSTON - Local law enforcement is targeting fake paper license plates on cars throughout Harris County.
Operation, ‘Tag, You’re It", started on January 15. According to the Harris County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA), deputy constables from Harris County offices will be looking for these bogus tags all month.
"It’s getting more and more out of hand," said Sgt. Alex Gonzalez. "There’s more and more paper tags that we’re seeing. We’re trying to crackdown as much as we can. The only way we can do that, is by putting more troops on the ground."
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According to data provided by the HCTRA, almost 350,000 cars went through Harris County tolls through November 2021 with unreadable license plates.
"You can’t identify them," said Rosa. "If they hit you, they just take off."
Rosa lives in North Houston. She says two cars have hit her vehicle with fake license plates. In both instances, the driver managed to not pay for any damages.
"They’ve hit me," said Rosa. "I saw the paper plate. I took a picture. It was bogus. It was registered to some other car."
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On Monday, we met one man who had a fake license plate. He didn’t want to provide a name, but says he has had the fake paper license plate for more than a year.
"I had a friend of mine make it for me," said the driver. "[The state] wants to charge me a bunch of money just for the price of the car. I guess it’s some kind of tax."
According to the driver, he drives on toll roads without paying for them. Although law enforcement is targeting drivers like him, he says he isn’t worried.
"I’ll risk it anyway," said the driver. "I’ve been driving around a year without [a real plate]."
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"We’re going after arrests," said Sgt. Gonzalez. "We’re looking for these individuals and or persons or places selling these tags [too]."