Crackdown on cross-border vehicle smuggling
A prominent North West businessman appeared in court as authorities target cross-border vehicle smuggling networks operating between South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
A North West businessman’s court appearance, following the interception of two vehicles at the Beitbridge border post near Musina, has highlighted how cross-border vehicle syndicates operate in South Africa.
Suliman Carrim appeared in the Musina Magistrate’s Court today (October 22) on charges of attempted theft of motor vehicles. According to the NPA, it is alleged that Carrim, acting in collusion with his employees, attempted to steal two vehicles belonging to Absa by taking them out of the country using fraudulent documentation.
Police intercepted the vehicles in July and arrested two suspects as they allegedly attempted to cross the border into Zimbabwe. According to police, the vehicles were destined for Malawi and allegedly had fraudulent bank authorisation papers.
He remains in custody pending his bail hearing on October 28.
In an unrelated matter, Carrim also faces charges under the Commissions Act 8 of 1947 for repeatedly failing to appear before the Madlanga Commission.
Border pipelines: From Gauteng, KZN and Mpumalanga to Beitbridge and Lebombo
Attempts to smuggle hijacked or stolen vehicles across the border place a major strain on police resources.
Just this week, police in Limpopo and Mpumalanga intercepted stolen and hijacked vehicles bound for the border.
On Tuesday, October 20, Limpopo police recovered a stolen Toyota Prado valued at R900 000 at the Capricorn Toll Plaza.
In a statement, SAPS said officers acted on information that a vehicle was travelling from Gauteng to the Beitbridge border post to smuggle it out of the country. The vehicle was reportedly stolen in Berea, KZN, earlier.
On the same day, a multi-disciplinary anti-hijacking team in Mpumalanga tracked down three double cab bakkies in three separate incidents.
In a press release issued yesterday (October 21), police said they received information about a suspicious double cab vehicle travelling near Malalane.
After intercepting the vehicle, officers discovered it had allegedly been hijacked in Kabokweni, about 30km from Mbombela. Police arrested Mozambican national Alfonso Nhouunte (34), who appeared in the Malalane Periodical Court yesterday on suspicion of possessing a stolen vehicle.
Later that day, at around 18:50, police received information about a recent hijacking. With help from a vehicle tracking company, they located the vehicle on the R538 between Karino and Plaston, with the keys still in the ignition.
The thieves are believed to have abandoned the vehicle when they realised they were being followed.
Just over an hour later, police responded to another hijacking report, this time in Kabokweni. The victim told police he was home when three armed men confronted him and demanded the keys to his Isuzu D-Max bakkie.
With help from a vehicle tracking company, police found the vehicle abandoned in the Newskom area, about 5km outside Kabokweni, with no suspects in sight.
Cross-border syndicate cracked
In April, police announced a breakthrough in bringing down a major cross-border syndicate operating across Limpopo, Gauteng, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
Police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba told The Citizen that the syndicate drove stolen vehicles to Gauteng after disabling the tracking system. There, they fitted the vehicles with false registration plates and documents before attempting to smuggle them across the border to Zimbabwe via Beitbridge or to Mozambique via Lebombo.
Police arrested five suspects, all Mozambican nationals, in Polokwane during a sting operation. Ledwaba says they have since been connected with 22 cases of vehicle theft that occurred between December 2024 and April this year.
Border smuggling is also a corruption issue
In June, the Hawks arrested a police sergeant stationed at the Lebombo border.
In a statement, the Hawks said intelligence indicated that criminal syndicates were colluding with corrupt border officials to help them move stolen vehicles into Mozambique.
The police official was arrested and charged with corruption after he allegedly accepted R80 000 from an undercover agent.
Vehicles worth R636m stopped at border
In October, at a media briefing at the Lebombo border, the Border Management Authority (BMA) said it had implemented a vehicle-targeting system to scan and flag suspicious vehicles more effectively.
In the six months since the system was implemented, 1 817 vehicles, valued at around R636m, were stopped at the border because drivers could not show written bank consent.
The BMA said it has also recovered 83 vehicles valued at R46m.
BMA commissioner Michael Masiapato said the system aims to help curb vehicle smuggling across South African borders.
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