SUPPLIED

An engine found at a chop shop in Chatsworth during a raid on Tuesday.

A KwaZulu-Natal chop shop syndicate, which has been raking in millions from buying and selling car parts and engines from hijacked and stolen vehicles, was raided by the Vehicle Identification Section – Isipingo, on Tuesday.

Four people, believed to be linked to the syndicate, were nabbed in the Chatsworth and Glen Anil areas by Warrant Officers Sean Reddy and Valrin Govindsamy, Sergeant Andrew Moodley and Captain Clinton Heneke, after a tip-off.

KZN police spokesman, Col Vincent Mdunge, said the operation started at midday when the team swooped on premises in Silverglen where they discovered a chop shop with car engines and car parts worth hundreds of thousands of rand.

He said the serial numbers on the engines were verified and one of the engines came up as belonging to a Totoya Tazz that had been stolen in the Berea area, less than a week ago.

When questioned, the alleged owner of the chop shop, said he had bought the engine from an unknown man in Umlazi for R6 000.

Mdunge said police became suspicious, as the cost of the engine was nothing less than R15 000. The man had no receipt to prove he had bought the engine and was arrested and detained at the Bellair SAPS.

While in custody, the man allegedly contacted his syndicate members from his cellphone, and instructed them to dispose of the shell of the Toyota Tazz which was at a house in Glen Anil. The informer tipped off police and the house was placed under surveillance.

Mdunge said an unmarked tow-truck fetched the vehicle from Glen Anil and took it to a vacant plot in Westcliffe, Chatsworth, where the driver and his assistant tried to dispose of it.

Both were arrested at the scene.

Police recovered pieces of a Toyota Yaris in the boot of the car which had been chopped.

A swoop on the Glen Anil house led to the recovery of the Tazz’s gearbox, steering rack and other stolen car parts, worth about R80 000. The owner of the house was also arrested.

All four are expected to appear in the Durban Magistrate’s Court tomorrow on charges of theft of motor vehicles and being in possession of stolen goods.

Mdunge said it was believed the suspects were linked to a chop shop syndicate operating in the province. He said it was illegal operations like these that created a market for hijackers and car thieves. He described it as a multimillion-rand industry for criminals.

“These criminals buy the hijacked or stolen cars for between R4 000 and R6 000. They take it apart and make more than a R30 000 profit from selling the spare parts.”

yogas.nair@inl.co.za