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A bakkie was hijacked, found by police, taken to the pound, stolen from the pound (allegedly by a policeman), and found again by police – all in one day.

The suspected thief, a police sergeant attached to the vehicle safeguarding unit in Prospecton, south of Durban, was arrested after he allegedly stole a Toyota Hilux bakkie from the pound – where it was being kept.

The policeman, who appeared in court on Wendesday, was arrested in KwaDukuza after members of the K9 dog unit spotted him and an accomplice in the vehicle on Tuesday.

Police spokesman, Lieutenant-Colonel Vincent Mdunge, said the vehicle had been hijacked in Durban North on Tuesday morning.

Police found the vehicle parked on the side of the road later that day and took it to the Prospecton pound where it was to be cleared and returned to the owner.

Mdunge said that later in the afternoon, officers at the pound noticed the vehicle was missing. The commander at the pound laid a complaint at the Isipingo police station, who put out a circular for officers to be on the look out for the vehicle.

Members of the Umhlali K9 dog unit who had been tracing the vehicle’s GPS tracking device, spotted the car in KwaDukuza.

“Officers were able to corner the vehicle and the two men in it jumped out,” Mdunge said.

“The officers, led by Captain Snothi Dlamini, released the dogs and pursued the suspects. A dog caught one of the suspects while the other got away.

“Upon investigation we discovered the suspect who was arrested was a police officer based at the pound,” he said.

The incident comes as members of the Hawks continue to probe a long list of theft and corruption that has plagued the pound, some stretching back to early 2000.

In October the Daily News revealed that a syndicate working alongside crooked policemen were stripping the parts of VW Golfs and Toyotas at the pound, taking off dashboards, air bags, computer units, batteries and mag wheels to sell on the black market.

In some instances, entire cars had been stolen.

The Isipingo safeguarding unit, which was built on reclaimed land in Prospecton, is supposed to be a highly secure facility where an estimated 3 800 recovered stolen vehicles are kept while they await police clearance.

The Daily News established that the CCTV cameras at the facility were not working.

Mdunge said that since the newspaper’s initial reports, the cameras had been repaired. This had been instrumental in recovering the stolen bakkie.

“The cameras picked up that the vehicle was not where it had been parked.

“We immediately began investigating,” Mdunge said.

The policeman, who appeared in the Durban Magistrate’s Court yesterday on charges of theft was remanded (in custody). He is expected to lodge a formal bail application on Wednesday.

The policeman’s alleged accomplice is on the run.

Mdunge said police were taking a hard approach in rooting out corruption within their ranks.

Mdunge said that a task force – set up in response to the thefts last year – was completing its investigation into the thefts at the pound.

According to police sources, two policemen are currently undergoing disciplinary hearings for their alleged involvement with local hijackers and supplying the vehicle parts to used spares dealers.