Man arrested driving stolen car on Pretoria highway
The Hawks further recovered three more vehicles, false vehicle documents and a large bag full of mandrax tablets with an estimated street value of R250 000.
What began as the arrest of a suspect found driving a stolen car on the N14 highway from Pretoria to Johannesburg on Tuesday night, led to the Hawks finding more vehicles with false registration plates at a suspect’s home.
This was after two men, aged 39 and 45, were arrested on the N14 highway, according to Hawks spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale.
One of them was driving an Audi stolen in Pretoria earlier this month while the second suspect was driving a Toyota Corolla with a false registration plate escorting the Audi.
The arrests came after the Hawks were tipped-off that the stolen Audi was spotted in Pretoria. An operation was launched by the Hawks and other law enforcement agencies to recover the car.
“A team was deployed on the N14 highway, and the two vehicles were successfully stopped and searched,” Mogale said.
Preliminary investigations confirmed that the Audi was reported stolen in Sunnyside.
More vehicles were found with false registration plates when they searched one of the suspects’ homes.
“Two more vehicles were found, namely a VW Jetta and a Hyundai.”
She said the Hyundai had a false registration plate and was also reported stolen whilst the Jetta’s registration had been tampered with.
More arrests are expected.
Mogale said they also found a laptop with software to design false vehicle registration documents, eNATIS documents, 21-day vehicle permits and other vehicle-related documentation.
The possibility that the suspects might be linked to a car theft syndicate in Pretoria and Johannesburg could not be ruled out, she said.
A large bag full of mandrax tablets with an estimated street value of R250 000 was also found in the suspect’s home.
The suspects will appear in court soon on charges of possession of stolen motor vehicles, and possession of illegal drugs.
One suspect will also be charged with the possession of unlicensed firearms as well as drugs because he was sought in a 2016 case in Cape Town.
ALSO READ: Man (68) shot in the head in Centurion
Do you have more information about the story?
Please send us an email to editorial@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.
For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites: Rekord East
For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram
