The garage where Phillip Lotter, 61, used to park his beloved 14-year-old Toyota Fortuner is now standing empty. The SUV was stolen at a market hosted by a sports club in Monument.
After church at about 10:00 Lotter and his wife first went to Key West shopping centre and then to the market on Shannon Road. All the parking inside the venue was taken and Lotter parked his vehicle on the curb on Frederick Cooper Drive with only the fence separating the Fortuner and some market stalls and their owners.
Also read: Vehicle models on the ‘wanted list’ by criminals in Krugersdorp
He locked the steering wheel, activated the alarm, and as he was in the habit of doing, felt the door handles to make sure the vehicle was indeed locked. The couple then proceeded to the market where they had an early lunch after browsing the stalls. When they came out about 50 minutes later the vehicle was gone.
A shocked and angry Lotter was told by an eyewitness that she saw a ‘family’ consisting of a man, woman and two children casually getting into the vehicle and driving off. Lotter reported the case and informed his insurance company. What bothers him though is the fact that he has discovered from community WhatsApp groups and from speaking to business owners and acquaintances, that Toyota Fortuners were being stolen right, left, and centre.
I am aware of at least four or five Fortuners that were stolen lately – one in front of a popular Pizzeria in Rangeview and two others at a well-known private school,” claimed Lotter who is convinced a syndicate is targeting the popular Toyota SUVs.
Two days later, to add insult to injury, Lotter received a phone call from a ‘Captain Mogale’ from ‘Komatiepoort border post’.
“This so-called captain informed me that they recovered my vehicle after a wild shootout in which one of the suspects was injured. He said the vehicle was used in an armed robbery and that they had to send it back to Krugersdorp Police Station for further investigation. He then told me they could not afford to rent a flatbed truck and asked me to transfer money in order to get my vehicle back to Krugersdorp. I immediately phoned my insurance company but before I could even finish my story the assessor asked me if a ‘Captain Mogale’ had called me. I confirmed and he informed me that it was well-known scam and that I should ask the ‘captain’ to send me a photo of the vehicle in front of the police station in Komatiepoort. The next time the ‘captain’ called I did ask him but he immediately made excuses and put down the phone. I never heard of him again,” said Lotter.
“What I find disturbing is that the ‘Captain Mogale’s’ phone was traced back to Diepsloot Prison which means the criminals are running the scam from the prison with information from someone within the police who has access to the system,” said an angry Lotter.
These criminals better pray the police catch them before I do,” he warned.
The News is currently following up on information that seems to confirm Lotter’s claims that Toyota Fortuners are being stolen at an alarming rate.
