A manhunt has been launched for a Birchleigh North home owner after the metro police discovered eight stolen vehicles on his property on Thursday last week.
The EMPD pounced on the property on Gertrude Street after a week’s careful surveillance after receiving information of dodgy characters and vehicles being regularly brought in and taken out of the yard.
Lt Col Wilfred Kgasago, metro police spokesman, said: “The patient monitoring of over a week paid dividends when the metro police swooped on the place and discovered eight vehicles suspected to have been stolen. The eight vehicles included two that were positively identified as stolen, one hijacked in Kempton Park and the other one stolen in Pretoria.”
The operation kicked into gear when the Edleen precinct commander realised there was activity at the house. He called for back-up of the EMPD K9 Unit.
“Two persons who were among the vehicles in the yard when the metro police arrived scaled walls and disappeared. A woman found in the house, who claimed she was the girlfriend of the owner, was arrested,” Kgasago said.
The metro police had to forcibly open the locked gates to gain access in order to inspect the vehicles.
A grey VW Polo, hijacked in June 2014 in Kempton Park, was found to be already registered in the house owner’s name living at the said address. The second vehicle positively identified as stolen was a white Hyundai H1 LDV stolen in Pretoria in July 2015.
Two BMW sedans, two VW sedans, one Audi and one Nissan LDV had their chassis and engine numbers tampered with, which necessitated the summoning of the police vehicle investigation squad to conduct a thorough investigation to verify as to whether the vehicles were stolen or not.
Kgasago said the police were searching for the registered owner. It also emerged that the suspect was a dealer in second-hand vehicles which he displayed for sale near a famous tavern in Tembisa.
Four VW Polos, which were earlier displayed, had been moved when the metro police went out to examine them.
The case was registered at Kempton Park Police Station and all the eight vehicles were taken to the SAPS Van Ryn pound in Benoni.
In-depth investigations are underway to apprehend the owner of the house.
