POLOKWANE – A multidisciplinary anti-smuggling operation has led to the recovery of a stolen luxury vehicle worth about R900 000 and the arrest of a 31-year-old foreign national in Polokwane.

The operation, conducted yesterday (June 18), involved members of the Provincial Tracking Team, Provincial Investigation Unit, Limpopo Tactical Response Team, Tshimollo Security and Investigations, and Tracker Connect.

Police said they received information in the early hours of the morning about a vehicle reported stolen in Gauteng that was supposedly being transported to the Beitbridge Port of Entry, where it was suspected it would be smuggled out of the country.

Law enforcement officers established an observation point at the intersection of the R101 South and R519 roads in the Westernburg policing area. The suspected vehicle was later spotted, but the driver didn’t stop when instructed by police.

A high-speed chase followed before officers successfully intercepted the vehicle near the Shell Ultra City in Polokwane.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the vehicle was a Nissan Patrol V8 that had been reported stolen in Fairland, Randburg, on June 13.

The driver, a 31-year-old Zimbabwean national, was arrested at the scene. Police further established that he was in the country illegally.

The suspect is expected to appear in the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court today (Friday) on charges of possession of a suspected stolen motor vehicle, contravention of the Immigration Act, reckless and negligent driving, and driving without a valid driver’s licence.

Police investigations are continuing.