Three arrested for possession of stolen vehicles
The police are warning buyers to be careful when they search for secondhand motor parts.
This follows the recent arrest of a man, his son and their employee after a police raid uncovered a chop-shop with car parts linked to 12 vehicles hijacked and stolen between 2018 and 2020.
An integrated intelligence-driven operation saw a multi-disciplinary team pounce on the shop in Crystal Park on September 25.
Operational information obtained by Johannesburg East Crime Intelligence resulted in members of the SAPS collaborating with the Saturation Unit of Gauteng Traffic Police, Tracker Connect, private security and the Insurance Crime Bureau.
Officers, on their arrival at the targeted residence, found one employee driving a Toyota Hilux carrying two engines that had been tampered with.
The van was profiled and confirmed as a vehicle reported at Honeydew SAPS in June 2018. The team proceeded to the workshop and found 11 more vehicles that had been stripped of their parts.
The models of the different vehicles ranged from Toyota, Isuzu to Ford and have been confirmed as either stolen or hijacked as per cases reported in Garsfontein, Germiston, Randburg, Langlaagte, Lyttelton, Roodepoort and Zonkizizwe.
The arrested trio appeared in the Benoni Magistrate's Court on September 28 on a charge of possession of stolen vehicles. The case was postponed for a formal remand.
Gauteng police commissioner Lt-Gen Elias Mawela lauded the sustained collaborative approach between the SAPS, other law enforcement agencies and private sector stakeholders in dealing with the crime.
The police are warning buyers to be careful when they search for secondhand motor parts.
This follows the recent arrest of a man, his son and their employee after a police raid uncovered a chop-shop with car parts linked to 12 vehicles hijacked and stolen between 2018 and 2020.
An integrated intelligence-driven operation saw a multi-disciplinary team pounce on the shop in Crystal Park on September 25.
Operational information obtained by Johannesburg East Crime Intelligence resulted in members of the SAPS collaborating with the Saturation Unit of Gauteng Traffic Police, Tracker Connect, private security and the Insurance Crime Bureau.
Officers, on their arrival at the targeted residence, found one employee driving a Toyota Hilux carrying two engines that had been tampered with.
The van was profiled and confirmed as a vehicle reported at Honeydew SAPS in June 2018. The team proceeded to the workshop and found 11 more vehicles that had been stripped of their parts.
The models of the different vehicles ranged from Toyota, Isuzu to Ford and have been confirmed as either stolen or hijacked as per cases reported in Garsfontein, Germiston, Randburg, Langlaagte, Lyttelton, Roodepoort and Zonkizizwe.
The arrested trio appeared in the Benoni Magistrate’s Court on September 28 on a charge of possession of stolen vehicles. The case was postponed for a formal remand.
Gauteng police commissioner Lt-Gen Elias Mawela lauded the sustained collaborative approach between the SAPS, other law enforcement agencies and private sector stakeholders in dealing with the crime.
