ONLY three hours after a car was stolen from Bazley Street in Port Shepstone last Sunday, SAPS officers from the K9 unit in Port Shepstone recovered the vehicle and arrested the driver.
“Warrant Officer Johan Terblanche, Constable Kheti Nkomo and Cst Thabane Mofokeng, were on the freeway at Umtentweni, when they saw the vehicle passing,” said police spokesman, Lieutenant-Colonel Zandra Wiid.
“The a description of the stolen vehicle had earlier been circulated. The officers stopped the vehicle and arrested the driver. While they were still questioning the suspect, another passing vehicle immediately accelerated when the driver saw the police. The officers gave chase as it was suspected that the occupants were involved in the theft of the first vehicle.”
The occupants abandoned the car on the freeway near Hibberdene and fled into the nearby sugarcane fields.
The suspect who was arrested for stealing the car in Port Shepstone was charged with the possession of stolen property. He appeared at the Port Shepstone Magistrate’s Court on Monday this week. The case was postponed for seven days and the man remains in custody.
Meanwhile, police are looking for the three suspects who fled and will investigate the whereabouts of the abandoned car on the freeway. The owner of the stolen vehicle was delighted to hear that his car had been recovered so soon and praised the three officers for their swift response.
