Pretoria - The Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) has arrested a man who was driving a stolen Toyota Land Cruiser VX-R which had been stolen in Sandton.
JMPD spokesperson Xolani Fihla said when the driver saw police, he abandoned the powerful V8 vehicle and ran away but officers gave chase and nabbed him.
“Officers received a complaint of a white Toyota Land Cruiser which was stolen on Tuesday morning, March 7, in Sandton and sought as per a Sandton SAPS case,” Fihla said.
The police officers received a tracking signal of the vehicle around the Kensington area in Joburg, indicating that the off-road vehicle was travelling on the R21, in the direction of Pretoria.
“The officers followed the tracking signal to the Nellmapius off-ramp where they spotted the vehicle in the traffic, which was fitted with false registration plates.
“As soon as the driver noticed the officers’ patrol vehicle approaching, he abandoned the vehicle on the side of the road and attempted to flee on foot,” said Fihla.
“The officers gave chase and managed to apprehend the suspect. The suspect was arrested for possession of a stolen vehicle, and he was detained at Lyttleton SAPS, where a case docket was opened for further investigation,” he said.
The Land Cruiser was seized by police officers and booked in at the SAPS Pretoria West pound for verification.
A quick search on website autotrader.co.za shows that a second-hand 2021 Toyota Land Cruiser 200 V8 VX-R retails for around R1.6 million.
Earlier this week, police in Gauteng recovered another Toyota Land Cruiser SUV after it was hijacked from its owner in Delmas on Sunday.
Spokesperson for the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) Lerato Monyane said the owner of the house where the popular SUV was parked said a man known to her had brought it and parked it at the house.
The man who allegedly brought the vehicle could not be reached on the phone, according to police.
“On Monday, March 6, at 9.30am, members of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department’s Tsakane precinct officers, in conjunction with the South African Police Service tracing unit, recovered a hijacked vehicle at Tsakane,” said Monyane.
“The EMPD officers received information regarding a hijacked vehicle that was spotted driving around the Tsakane area. Following up on the information, officers were led to a residence on Mosaka Street in Tsakane, where the hijacked white Toyota Land Cruiser SUV was found.
“Allegedly, the SUV was hijacked from the owner at Delmas on Sunday, March 5, and a case docket was opened at Benoni police station. The owner of the house alleges that the known suspect parked the vehicle and left,” she said.
Monyane said attempts to reach the suspect were not successful as he “had switched off his phone”.
“The vehicle was taken to Benoni, Van Rhyn Deep for safekeeping. Investigations are ongoing, and arrests are imminent,” she said.
IOL