Pretoria - Police managed to recover 11 stolen vehicles after operations in Pretoria North, Montana and Sinoville.
A joint intelligence-led operation saw a multi-disciplinary team on Tuesday pounce on three addresses.
At the first in Pretoria North, police found a makeshift park-and-sell facility with a Nissan NP200 reported stolen at Lyttelton SAPS in October.
They seized a BMW 5-series reported stolen at Soshanguve last month and a Toyota Fortuner with a tampered vehicle identification number.
Four more vehicles were found at the second address in Montana. They were a Renault Sandero, Audi A4, VW Polo and Toyota Etios.
The cars were being sought by police in Sunnyside, Temba, Mamelodi and Brooklyn.
And at the third premises, another makeshift park-and-sell facility on Sefako Makgatho Drive in Sinoville, four stolen vehicles were recovered, bringing the total to 11.
These included a Nissan NP200 reported stolen at Rietgat SAPS, Hyundai H11 from Krugersdorp in July, Renault Kwid reported stolen at Soshanguve in October and a Hyundai H100 with tampered vehicle identification number.
A Pakistani national and his employer, a 47-year old Zimbabwean national, were arrested and are expected to appear before the Pretoria North Magistrate’s Court on charges of possession of stolen and/or hijacked motor vehicles. Investigations are under way to determine the legality of their presence in the country.
Provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Elias Mawela commended the value-adding collaboration by the SAPS.
“Our biggest successes this past year, in response to our concerted efforts to reduce the high volumes of hijackings in the province, have emanated from our strengthened partnership with other law enforcement agencies and private stakeholders.
“We will therefore continue on this trajectory in our strife to disrupt the market for stolen and hijacked vehicles that often come at the expense of the lives of innocent victims.”
Police also cautioned potential second-hand car buyers to avoid what would seem to be unusually cheap buys from some dealerships and rather shop or buy from established, reputable sellers to avoid getting arrested for possession of stolen or hijacked vehicles.
A joint government task force also crushed a number of illegally imported second-hand vehicles this week.
SA Revenue Service commissioner Edward Kieswetter said the proliferation of second-hand motor vehicles into the country from Europe, Asia and the rest of Africa had become a serious risk to the survival of the legitimate motor vehicle industry.
“Illegal activities such as smuggling of second-hand vehicles ultimately have negative consequences on the economy of the country. They also pose a safety threat when used within South Africa since the’re not manufactured for the local environment…”
Pretoria News