Pretoria – Police in Standerton have recovered a white Toyota Etios, valued at around R85 000, which was stolen in Centurion, Pretoria, five years ago.
“The police crime intelligence unit in Standerton gathered information and employed the services of Standerton K9 to conduct an operation,” Mpumalanga police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala said.
The investigation led police to a house in Meyerville, in Standerton, where the suspicious vehicle was spotted.
Mohlala said when police officers arrived at the house, a “possible suspect” fled.
An investigation of the vehicle, which had no registration plates, revealed that it was stolen in Centurion, in Pretoria, Gauteng, in May 2018, said Mohlala.
The vehicle was confiscated by police and taken to the Standerton police station.
“Police are still on the lookout for the suspect and hope to bring him to book soon,” said Mohlala.
Lieutenant-General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela, the Mpumalanga police commissioner, has applauded the “excellent work” by the officers involved in the operation.
She also called on community members to alert police to suspicious activities.
Last year, police officers in Mpumalanga recovered a BMW vehicle at a house near Collegeview Trust in Bushbuckridge, several months after it was hijacked in Mamelodi, east of Pretoria.
At the time, Mohlala said police officers were on patrol when they spotted the car and went into the yard to investigate.
“The ‘owner’ was not around at the time,” said Mohlala.
The officers discovered that the car was fitted with false number plates.
“Further information by the police revealed that the vehicle was in fact stolen during a robbery in August 2021 at Mamelodi in Gauteng. In addition, the members found an engine of a Toyota Corolla as they checked around the yard, though the serial numbers thereof had been tampered with,” said Mohlala.
IOL