Johannesburg - Once again, criminals have targeted the resources of the province of Limpopo, taking two state cars from the provincial Department of Roads and Transport.
According to the police in Lebowakgomo, they were investigating a business burglary that occurred at a mechanical repairs workshop in the area on Friday.
Information from the police indicated that two motor vehicles belonging to the state were reportedly stolen from the premises where they were brought in for mechanical repairs.
The owner of the workshop allegedly left the premises in the afternoon at about 3.50 pm, with all the doors, gates, and windows properly closed.
The following day, he received calls from the police informing him that the two vehicles belonging to the Transport Department had been involved in an accident at Marble Hall Policing Area.
Upon rushing to the workshop, the owner noticed that the fence at his workshop had been cut, along with a padlock on the wall fence and a roller door in the workshop.
Once the police arrived, it was established that the two cars— a Toyota Hilux owned by the SAPS in Motetema and a Mazda Drifter owned by the provincial transport agency —were actually the ones involved in the accident at Marble Hall.
Lieutenant-General Thembi Hadebe, the provincial commissioner for Limpopo, denounced the incident and urged the public to give the police any information that would help in the capture of the culprits.
This is not the first time that thieves have stolen from the state; earlier this month, Florence Radzilani, the MEC for Transport and Community Safety in Limpopo, asked locals for help after state cars were taken in Tzaneen.
On July 14, two vehicles belonging to the Limpopo Department of Agriculture were stolen by a group of heavily armed robbers who ambushed and overpowered security personnel at the Department of Agriculture Offices in Peace Street, Tzaneen.
In that incident, the criminals made off with two double-cab bakkies, two two-way radios, two cellphones, and rounds of ammunition belonging to the security personnel within the facility.
The Star