BEREA police’s crime prevention team have made a breakthrough in what appears to be a car theft syndicate operating in the area.
According to Lieutenant PN Naidoo, communications officer at Berea SAPS, Captain Kevin Stephen and his crime prevention team followed up on information given to him by an informer on a theft of motor vehicle case reported at Berea SAPS on Monday morning and worked tirelessly until the early hours of Tuesday morning.
“The team worked on the information which led them to the Police Pound in Prospecton where they recovered a Blue Etios. A man, at the pound, who was trying to get a police clearance certificate for the vehicle had sufficient evidence that he had purchased it and also produced a log book. However, further investigation proved the log book was fake. Working on information their investigations uncovered, police followed up and arrested a suspect in Merebank on Monday evening in possession of a blue BMW, suspected to be stolen and a second suspect was arrested in Phoenix in possession of a grey Polo, also believed to be stolen,” explained Naidoo.
Fake number plates including those of a car stolen in the Umbilo area were found in one of the recovered vehicles.
The two suspects aged 22 and 25 years old were detained at Berea SAPS and are expected to appear in court on Thursday. Naidoo said the team was following up with information on a third suspect and expect an arrest soon.
