Nelspruit - A 25-year-old man is expected to appear in the Mkobola Magistrate's Court in Kwaggafontein on Monday on a charge of possession of a suspected stolen truck, Mpumalanga police said on Sunday.
His appearance came after he was arrested by members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) at Kwaggafontein on Friday, while driving a white Toyota Dyna truck allegedly stolen in Secunda, Colonel Mtsholo Bhembe said.
"His arrest came as members of the police who were conducting a routine operation stopped two suspicious-looking vehicles, a red pick-up van driving in front and the Dyna truck at the back, along a gravel road.
"The police motioned to the drivers to stop, but the driver of the red van in front sped off and the driver of the truck stopped, alighted, and ran away. The police gave chase and managed to apprehend him," Bhembe said.
A preliminary investigation revealed that the truck belonged to a driving school in Secunda and had been stolen earlier on Friday, with the owner not even aware that his truck had been stolen. "He was surprised to hear from the police that his truck had been recovered before he was even aware that it had been stolen," Bhembe said.