Vehicle stolen in Pretoria East retrieved while being smuggled out of the country
The retrieval led to the arrest of a 29-year-old suspect for possession of a suspected stolen motor vehicle, who then tried to flee from law enforcement.
According to police, a vehicle reported stolen in Garsfontein was retrieved on February 12 en route to being smuggled.
A 29-year-old man was arrested for possession of a suspected stolen motor vehicle, as he tried to flee law enforcement.
Colonel Malesela Ledwaba said Limpopo police nabbed the man who allegedly was going to smuggle the vehicle out of the country through the Beitbridge border.
Ledwaba said the a team with the assistance of a security company gave chase and ultimately nabbed the suspect at Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane.
“Following on information and diligent investigative work, members of the provincial murder and robbery, tracking team working jointly with private security company intercepted the vehicle on Monday around 10:00 next to Peter Mokaba Stadium.”
“The vehicle, reported stolen from Garsfontein in Gauteng over the weekend, was allegedly set to be smuggled out of South Africa.”
He said the South African suspect was cornered on the N1.
Limpopo police commissioner Lieutenant-General Thembi Hadebe commended the members involved in the operation for their dedication and professionalism.
“The arrest demonstrates the power of community-police partnership in ensuring crime is defeated, including cross-border crimes,” said Hadebe.
The suspect is expected to appear in the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, February 14 on a charge of possession of suspected stolen property.
Last year Rekord reported that cars being stolen in South Africa were retrieved before they could cross the border.
In October, a 34-year-old suspect was nabbed on charges of driving a suspected stolen vehicle heading for the Zimbabwe border.
Loaded Maguta, a Zimbabwe national had appeared in Polokwane Magistrate’s Court after his arrest in Polokwane after a high-speed chase in a vehicle also reportedly stolen in Garsfontein in the east of Pretoria.
Maguta’s arrest was a result of a tip-off, leading to police and stakeholders actioning an operation to recover the Toyota Fortuner 2.8 stolen in Garsfontein on October 21.
According to police, the suspect was linked to a vehicle-smuggling syndicate operating between Gauteng and Limpopo at Beitbridge.
He was also linked to the smuggling of a Toyota Hilux Legend 50 to Zimbabwe earlier that month.
In June, police intercepted and arrested a 52-year-old suspect before he could cross the border in a stolen vehicle.
Ledwaba said according to intelligence, the Toyota Hilux was reportedly hijacked in Pretoria and would have been smuggled out of the country into Zimbabwe via Beitbridge.
“The operational team followed information along the R101 outside Mokopane and the vehicle fitting the description was spotted. Attempts to stop it failed as the driver sped off and a high-speed chase ensued until the Toyota Hilux was intercepted along Nelson Mandela Drive in Mokopane.”
Ledwaba said preliminary investigations revealed that the vehicle was heading to Bulawayo in Zimbabwe.
“It was further established that its registration and chassis numbers had been cloned from another Toyota in Johannesburg.”
Police Minister General Bheki Cele said at a press conference on September 26 that crime intelligence operators were continuing to work with informants and units to clamp down on organised crime related to kidnapping, extortion, narcotics, cash-in-transit, and vehicle and truck hijackings.
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