• UPDATE NOTICE TO READERS 13/11/25 @ 08:00 –  The owner of the vehicle requested anonymity.

The owner of a Ford Everest stolen at the Midwater Centre last week Thursday says Tracker told him that a vehicle theft syndicate, equipped with signal tracing and blocking technology, had been operating between Middelburg and Witbank for some time.

The Everest was stolen in the parking area close to the Spur at Midwater. The incident happened around 13:30.

The syndicate is said to be from Soweto, with the owner saying his wife was followed by a Suzuki Swift with a Gauteng registration to the parking lot.

Once the wife exited the vehicle and locked it, a man with a laptop bag followed her, while another stood close to the vehicle.

According to the owner, Tracker showed him a video of how the sophisticated technology is used to steal vehicles within two minutes.

The laptop picks up the vehicle’s locking signal on the remote, after which the signal is sent to the waiting thief, who then easily unlocks the vehicle with the remote in his possession.

After stealing the Everest, the car thieves drove away. The vehicle was traced to Mineralia, after the owner traced his grade seven daughter’s cell phone, which was in her school bag inside the Everest.

The thieves must have found the phone because the signal was lost in Mineralia.

According to the owner, Tracker told him that there had been four similar vehicle thefts reported in the past week.

Stolen vehicles are then driven to a nearby home where tracking devices are disabled and the registration plates swapped for false plates.

The Everest has not been found. The owner wants to warn vehicle owners about the latest trick.

Midwater Centre confirmed that the vehicle was stolen but added that it was the first vehicle theft in more than a year.