Cops pursue stolen vehicle smugglers
Increased arrests show that Polokwane is central on the route for smugglers to get stolen vehicles destined for Malawi and Zimbabwe through the Beitbridge border post especially at night and into the early hours of the morning.
Four foreign nationals were recently arrested in separate incidents for being in possession of suspected stolen motor vehicles along with fraudulent documents that include invalid drivers’ licences.
At around 21:30 on Sunday, a 44-year old Malawian was spotted driving a Toyota Fortuner worth R800 000 along the R101 to Polokwane. The vehicle had been reported stolen in KwaZulu-Natal the previous day.
“The team tried to stop him, but he sped off. They pursued the vehicle and subsequently stopped it next to the Shell Ultra City,” Brig Hlulani Mashaba said in a statement.
On Monday at around 02:00, local police followed up on information about another stolen motor vehicle, a Mercedes-Benz valued at R2m that was hijacked in Gauteng on April 14.
“The vehicle was spotted being escorted by a VW Polo along the N1 North and when operational members attempt to stop the vehicle, the driver also attempted to speed of.”
In the chase that followed, the driver drove through a fence on a nearby farm and alighted from the vehicle in an attempt to evade arrest, but he was injured in the process, the police confirmed.
Other members managed to stop and search the sedan which had two occupants.
“They were found in possession of fraudulent documents of the vehicle. The three suspects were aged between 29 and 43 years.
“The injured driver was taken to a local hospital, under police guard.”
All four suspects appeared in the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.