Advice Maswanganyi (32) from Lulekani was charged on two counts of theft out of a motor vehicle by the Phalaborwa Regional Court. The arrest comes after he stole valuable items that included an undisclosed amount of money and a watch among other items from two cars on Sunday, January 16 this year. “The complainants woke up to find that valuable items from their cars were missing.

“They reported the matter to the police and preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect jumped the wall, entered the yard, opened both vehicles, and stole the items. A docket was opened and Dt Sgt Tebogo Mmola, was assigned to the case and she began with an investigation immediately,” explained Sgt Elvis Mongwe, spokesperson for the police in Phalaborwa. Mmola left no stone unturned and the suspect was eventually hunted down and detained in the holding cells.

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The stolen items were recovered and positively identified by the owner, however, the cash amount was already spent by the suspect. The watch was found where Maswanganyi traded it and he was also positively identified by the complainants’ home CCTV camera. Maswanganyi had outstanding cases and his criminal record indicated that he has been in trouble with the law from a young age. The acting station commander of the police in Phalaborwa, Lt Col Freddy Lubbe has welcomed the conviction and congratulated the Mmola for an exceptional job with the case.

“The sentence of Maswanganyi serves as a warning to criminals that crime does not pay. Police will continue to hit criminals hard who are tormenting our communities; the fight to uproot crime and remove criminals from our society is in an advanced stage. For as long as our communities are bulldozed by criminals we will not rest, the journey towards a crime-free society is continuing,” concluded Lubbe.