Border car theft scheme thwarted

TWO cars were recovered by the SANDF this week near South Africa’s border with Mozambique. The recovery was part of efforts by the defence force to fight criminals who have become adept at using the bush to hide vehicles during the “cooling-off ” period – the time searches are under way by law enforcement officials.

Tuesday’s recovery resulted from one of numerous joint operations conducted by the SANDF and SAPS at Manguzi near the Mozambican border.

One of the vehicles found was a Toyota Fortuner with a Pinetown registration and which the SANDF said was one of the more popular cars targeted by theft syndicates.

Captain Mahlangu, who wanted only to be identified by his surname and who was in charge of the operation, said: “About 7pm we received information that there were two stolen vehicles. We made some calls to a couple of guys to find out if they knew anything.”

Mahlangu said they were told by locals that they had spotted cars being driven by people known to be involved in taking stolen vehicles across the South African/ Mozambican border.

He said the SAPS then apprehended one driver. The other escaped. Mahlangu said the suspect was questioned, but refused to reveal the whereabouts of the vehicles. It was only the next day that he divulged the location.

The recovery of the vehicles is just one of a number of efforts being made by the SANDF to prevent cross-border crime.

On Monday, Lieutenant-Colonel Tiger Johnson said they had to patrol hundreds of kilometres at the Swaziland/Mozambique border to capture criminals.

They had confiscated goods worth R10 million since March, despite being hard-hit by numerous budget cuts. The cross-border crimes have also received attention from the SAPS. Police Minister Bheki Cele will this weekend visit Manguzi and uMhlabuyalingana to provide feedback to residents on cross-border crime.

In February, then police minister Fikile Mbalula visited the area to address challenges faced by the community.

There has been a huge public outcry over cross-border crime with prominent figures such as King Goodwill Zwelithini and DA leader Mmusi Maimane calling for a tightening of the borders.