Online Reporter
Thupeyo Muleya, Beitbridge Bureau
A 38-year-old Zimbabwean and a 40-year-old Malawian have been arrested in Limpopo Province, South Africa, as security authorities from Zimbabwe and South Africa continue to collaborate in fighting cross-border crime.
The two were found driving a stolen Toyota Corolla worth at least R600 000 that was being transported to Zimbabwe.
It is believed the suspects are part of syndicates involving South Africans, Batswana, Basotho, Mozambicans, Malawians and Zimbabweans who steal vehicles for the export market.
In some cases, authorities say the vehicles are sold by their owners in insurance fraud schemes, with owners reporting them stolen to claim insurance money.
In most cases, these cars are driven to illegal crossing points by South Africans, who then hand them over to other nationalities depending on the exit border from that country.
South African Police Service (SAPS) spokesperson for Limpopo Province, Colonel Malasela Ledwaba, said the two were arrested on Sunday near Polokwane along the N1 highway.
“The Provincial Commissioner of Police in Limpopo, Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe, has praised the multi-disciplinary teams for their swift response, which led to the interception of the reported stolen vehicle and the subsequent arrest of two suspects on Sunday, 30 November 2025,” Col Ledwaba said.
“The SAPS Limpopo Tracking Team, joined by external law enforcement, Shadow Secure Security, Tshimollo Security and Investigation, as well as Tracker SA, were involved in an anti-smuggling operation. They received intelligence about a stolen motor vehicle being driven from Gauteng Province to Beitbridge via the N1 freeway. The operational team kept watch, and the vehicle fitting the description was seen on the N1 north, Polokwane, next to the Mall of the North.”
The operational team stopped the vehicle, and preliminary investigations revealed that it had been stolen in Pretoria Central, leading to the arrest of the Malawian and Zimbabwean suspects.
Col Ledwaba said a case of possession of a suspected stolen motor vehicle was opened in Polokwane. The suspects will appear before Polokwane Magistrate Court on Tuesday. The recovered vehicle is a Toyota Corolla Cross GR valued at R600 000.
