Police bust smuggling syndicate

POLICE in Limpopo yesterday said they had broken the back of a syndicate involved in smuggling cars across the border into neighbouring Zimbabwe after arresting five suspects and recovering four stolen vehicles, including a new SA government truck.

Police said the suspects were arrested after an operation led by crime intelligence.

The provincial Tracking Team stopped suspects from smuggling four vehicles to Zimbabwe on Wednesday evening.

“This syndicate was smuggling stolen motor vehicles from South Africa to Zimbabwe through the Limpopo River for some time until this special operation was established and conducted last night,” said police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Moatshe Ngoape.

Ngoape said the suspects aged 40, 31, 32 ,33, 36 and 40 were from Senwabarwana, Musina and Soshanguve and were linked to the smuggling of vehicles.

Police said the recovered vehicles, one of them belonging to the SA government, were stolen in Gauteng.

The vehicles included a White Toyota Hilux single cab reported stolen early this month at Temba in Hammanskraal, a new White Hyundai H1 truck which was to be delivered to the Department of Public Works in Pretoria, a Toyota Avanza which was hijacked in Brooklyn in October last year.

Police suspect that a silver BMW 7 series wanted for repossession by a bank over arrears of about R700 000, was about to be smuggled out of the country when they found it.

The suspects were set to appear in the Musina Magistrates Court yesterday on charges of possession of stolen motor vehicles. – African News Agency