‘Highly wanted’ man, accomplice arrested for theft of TLB
One of the arrested men is believed to be behind a series of violent crimes committed throughout Limpopo and Mpumalanga, says Police Spokesperson, Col Moatshe Ngoepe.
LIMPOPO – A tip-off to the police led to the arrest of two men and the recovery of a stolen tractor loader backhoe (TLB) along the R36 road outside Tzaneen.
In a statement, Police Spokesperson, Col Moatshe Ngoepe said the police received a tip-off about a truck transporting a suspected stolen TLB on the R36 road to Tzaneen. “The truck was spotted at a filling station within the central business district of Tzaneen. Police arrived on the scene and the two suspects were interviewed about the origin and destination of this machine. After they failed to provide a reasonable explanation, the duo (40 and 58) were arrested and the truck together with the TLB confiscated.”
Ngoepe added that investigations revealed that the chassis number of the machine was tampered with and that the TLB was reported stolen during a business robbery that took place on 4 September in the Sekhukhune Policing area.”
With further investigations, the 40-year-old suspect was positively linked to 12 separate crimes which were committed in 2010 and 2019 across Limpopo and Mpumalanga. “These crimes include the possession of suspected stolen motor vehicle, theft of motor vehicle, business robbery, possession of an unlicensed firearm, drunk driving, armed robbery and attempted theft of a motor vehicle,” Ngoepe explained.
He is also believed to be the mastermind behind the theft of TLB machinery in the Tzaneen area and Mpumalanga province, he added.
The duo are expected to appear in the Tzaneen Magistrate’s Court soon on charges related to theft. They will also appear before various magistrate’s courts in Limpopo and Mpumalanga.
Investigations into all these matters still continue, Ngoepe concluded.
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