Vusumuzi Dube
Thupeyo Muleya, Beitbridge Bureau
SOUTH African police are intensifying their crack down on cross border car theft and smuggling syndicate between the neighbouring country and Zimbabwe.
On Friday they arrested a Malawian and Zimbabwean man driving two cars worth R1 million which had been stolen in Gauteng headed to an illegal crossing point at the Limpopo River.
Limpopo provincial police commander, Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe hailed the commitment and dedication displayed by members of the Police in the province in ridding this province of criminal activities.
In a statement, she said the police recovered the two vehicles reportedly stolen in Gauteng Province during the operation by various Police Components in Masemola Policing precinct under Sekhukhune District.
“During the operation, police’ spotted two Toyota Fortuner motor vehicles that were travelling together in a convoy on a public road and they started to follow them. The drivers of the two motor vehicles noticed that the police were following them and attempted to speed off in order to evade arrest but were cornered, stopped and searched. The members of the Vehicle Identification and Safeguarding Unit (VIS) were summoned at the scene for further investigations about the motor vehicles,” said the senior police officer.
She said the police had since discovered that the two Toyota Fortuner motor vehicles were reportedly stolen this year in Gauteng Province, Roodepoort and Honeydew respectively. The two male suspects believed to be a Zimbabwean and Malawian Nationals were immediately nabbed on the spot for being in possession of suspected stolen motor vehicles valued more than one million rand.
The suspects aged 31 and 40 will appear before the Sekhukhune Magistrate court soon facing charges of possession of suspected motor vehicles.
“Police investigations are continuing,” added Lt General Hadebe.
The development comes a few days after special investigations police in South Africa, the Hawks re-arrested a 28-year-old man believed to be the leader of the cross border vehicles smuggling syndicate. Raymond Sibusiso Tshabalala was re-arrested on Friday last week after having skipped bail in 2019.
Much of the time the Limpopo has very low surface flows it is possible to used donkeys to drag cars across the sand and small streams. In some instances, the vehicles are eventually taken to Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania and Mozambique. Tshabalala has been remanded in custody to September 29 in the interim.
Allegations are that in the early hours of 9 December 2017, the accused together with his accomplices broke into a Ford Vehicle Dealership in Phalaborwa and stole six vehicles. These included two by Ford Everest and four Ford Ranger worth R3 235 000. The matter was immediately reported to the police and a case was opened and referred to the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation for further probe.
An intensive investigation was conducted and it resulted in the recovery of five of the six stolen motor vehicles in Masisi area near the Limpopo River on the very same day they were reported stolen. The vehicles were intercepted from crossing the Limpopo River into Zimbabwe and all the drivers ran away.
The smuggling of vehicles has become rampant around the border line and the Government is losing millions of dollars in import revenue annually.
A modest car is charged 96 percent import duty inclusive of VAT and Surtax on the total invoice value.
Indications are that most of these stolen cars are rental cars in South Africa and are smuggled to Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania via Zimbabwe. However, several others find their way to the local car sales in Zimbabwe, sources said. — @tupeyo
Bongani Ndlovu