Police officers from the Vehicle Crime Investigation Unit embarked on a project to trace and recover stolen and hijacked vehicles that are in the hands of members of the community.
The operation which began on 24 June 2017 ended on 7 July 2017 and resulted in the recovery 45 stolen and hijacked vehicles. The total value of vehicles that were recovered is estimated to be about R3.5 million. One suspect was arrested during the operation and more arrests are expected as the investigations progresses.
The operation was conducted jointly by various police units together with the Insurance Crime Bureau. During the operation police identified several vehicles were altered or had their identification numbers changed and were reintroduced into the eNatis System by vehicle crime syndicates. These vehicles were then sold to members of the community. Members of the community are sensitized to be cautious when buying vehicles from private sellers who advertise on various media platforms. We also wish to make the public aware that the SAPS does not charge members of the public for the storage of their vehicles in our vehicle safeguarding facilities.
The KwaZulu-Natal Acting Provincial Commissioner, Major General Bheki Langa commended the units involved in the recovery of these vehicles. “We wish to warn syndicates that these operations are going to be conducted more regularly. Members of the community are also warned not to collude with these criminal’s by buying vehicles that have been cloned as it is only a matter of time before the long arm of the law catches up with you,” he said.
“Whilst there might be cases where these cloned vehicles are sold to unsuspecting members of the community, we are also aware that in many cases members of the public are aware of these dodgy practices and collude with criminals to buy vehicles for a fraction of their value. This contributes to our high rate of stolen and hijacking vehicles as well as the despair it brings to victims of crime. This vicious cycle needs to be brought to an end and we appeal to those who have information of these practices to contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111,” he added.
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