The stripped vehicles were found on the premises.
Image: Supplied
After receiving tip-offs from the community, a Verulam man was arrested after he was found operating a chop shop from a home in Redcliff.
A Kia bakkie, allegedly stolen from Mayville in January, was found being stripped.
A police source said when police surrounded the house, they found a man stripping a Ford Ranger bakkie. Police found various stripped vehicles and vehicle parts on the property, and the chassis tags had been removed.
“Two engines found on the premises had the engine numbers tampered with. A Kia bakkie, stolen from Mayville, was found on the premises. A VW engine was also found on the premises with its engine number tampered with.
"The property was leased by an Indian man who runs the chop shop. A Mozambican foreign national who was stripping the vehicle was arrested,” the source said.
Rachel Wilkin, spokesperson for the Verulam Community Policing Forum, said the incident exposed that residents were conducting criminal activity “under their noses”.
She said this was the perfect example of “If you see something, say something”.
In this case, credible information was given to the police, who then made observations and took action. It shows the importance of people noticing and reporting suspicious or untoward behaviour that seems legally or normally incorrect.
“A lot of the time people put their own spin on things so accuracy is important. Residents must report exactly what they see or hear. This allows the police to follow up on the information and arrest the suspects. Community-police partnerships are important. If we work together in a credible trustworthy manner, we can curb crime together,” she said.
Wilkin said if the police do not act on the first complaint, they should keep reporting the crimes and not be deterred.
“These kinds of crimes cannot breed under our noses in the community,” she added.