Bakkie hijacked in Pretoria retrieved ‘en route to border’
Police allege a Ford Ranger was on its way to Zimbabwe when the driver was intercepted.
A Ford Ranger Raptor reported hijacked in Pretoria on Friday was recovered on Sunday on its way to being smuggled out of the country through the Beitbridge border, according to police.
A 49-year-old man was arrested for possession of suspected stolen property and a case was opened at Westenburg police station.
Colonel Malesela Ledwaba said the arrest was made during a coordinated operation as a continued effort to combat the illegal smuggling of vehicles across borders.
He said the suspect was intercepted on Sunday morning during an operation along the R101 next to Lunds farm. It is suspected he was on the way to smuggle the bakkie out of the country into Zimbabwe.
According to Ledwaba, the suspect is due to make another court appearance in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court.
Pretoria Rekord has previously reported on similar cases where vehicles stolen in South Africa had been retrieved en route to the border.
On March 7 police intercepted a 44-year-old man who drove a hijacked Toyota Rav 4. The vehicle had allegedly been hijacked in Brooklyn, Pretoria East on February 19.
The suspect face charges of possession of the suspected stolen motor vehicle, contravention of the Immigration Act, driving a motor vehicle without a valid driver’s licence and reckless and negligent driving.
In October last year, a 34-year-old suspect was nabbed on charges of driving a suspected stolen vehicle, also heading for the Zimbabwe border.
Last year June, police intercepted and arrested a 52-year-old suspect before he could cross the border in a stolen vehicle.
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