Two members of a syndicate involved in the theft and cross border transportation of vehicles were sentenced to a combined 16 years imprisonment in Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court.
Owing to meticulous investigation by the OR Tambo International Airport-based investigation task team, the court handed down a 10-year prison sentence to Bheki Mlangeni (39) and six years to 38-year-old Sifiso Tukulu.
The two men were part of a gang of eight which in July 2012 went into a car rental company based at the airport and stole eight luxury sedans with a combined value of R1,5 million. They managed to carry out this theft with the help of a company employee who has been at large since he was granted bail in June 2013.
So far three of these stolen vehicles have been recovered.
The hunt for two other suspects, who have absconded shortly after they were granted bail, is continuing.
The Acting National Commissioner of the SAPS, Lt Gen Khomotso Phahlane, has congratulated the team for a job well done, adding that our ports of entry need to be well policed to avoid incidents in which syndicates find it easier to transport vehicles across our borders.
“We have, as part of our border control measures, increased the level of alertness and more manpower to ensure that any vehicle passing our ports of entry is in possession of the necessary paperwork. We are doing everything within the law to prevent that similar incidents occur,” said Phahlane.
