LOOK: Toyota SUV stolen in Pretoria intercepted in Limpopo, heading towards Beitbridge border
|Published
A 36-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle a stolen Toyota RAV4 from South African to Zimbabwe.
The man was arrested on Thursday as he was headed from Gauteng towards the Beitbridge port of entry, headed for Zimbabwe.
Members of South African Police Services (SAPS) provincial anti-smuggling task team in Limpopo, working with private security companies, intercepted the motorist following a tip-off that a stolen vehicle was going to be smuggled out of the country.
“The vehicle was traced and stopped while travelling from Gauteng to Beitbridge port of entry. The suspect was arrested on Thursday (April 25,2024) at N1 bypass next to Mall of the North in Polokwane,” according to Limpopo provincial police spokesperson, Colonel Malesela Ledwaba.
“The operational members positively followed the information and spotted the described charcoal Toyota RAV4 VX Edition and tactically approached and stopped it.”
Preliminary police investigations have since established that the vehicle was reported stolen at Silverton, in Tshwane.
The driver of the vehicle was then arrested for possession of a presumed stolen motor vehicle.
Meanwhile, provincial commissioner of police in Limpopo, Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe has lauded the law enforcement teams which participated in the arrest and recovery of the sport utility vehicle.
The 36-year-old man is expected to appear before the Polokwane Magistrate's Court soon.
Last year, IOL reported that the regional court in Mokopane, Limpopo, convicted and sentenced a 35-year-old South African man who was arrested for possession of a stolen motor vehicle, a silver Toyota Fortuner which was heading to Zimbabwe.
At the time, Brigadier Hlulani Mashaba said Shane Mthombeni was sentenced to six years of direct imprisonment, without the option to pay a fine.
“The court heard that the South African citizen, Shane Mthombeni was intercepted by police while driving a silver motor vehicle, a Toyota Fortuner at Nyl Toll Plaza along the N1 Highway on October 30,” Mashaba said.
Members of the Limpopo police’s provincial tracking team, in conjunction with a private security company operationalised information which had been gathered, and arrested the driver.
IOL News