On the morning of 27 January 2021, at 06:00, an operation by the Vryheid Task Team was carried out at Weenen where the team was following up information regarding suspects involved in a case of theft of vehicle.
It is alleged that on 26 November 2020, the complainant parked his vehicle in his yard at Bhekezulu area in Vryheid, securely locked the gate before he went to sleep. The following morning, he noticed that his taxi was nowhere to be seen and the gate was broken. A case of theft of motor vehicle was opened for investigation at Vryheid SAPS.
The team proceeded to Nhliwe area in Weenen where a stolen bakkie was found. The investigation revealed that the bakkie was stolen at Alberton in Gauteng. Inside the suspect’s workshop, the police found pieces of the stolen taxi, pieces of a vehicle that was hijacked in Colenso as well as pieces of other vehicles.
A total of seven suspects aged between 30 and 68 were placed under arrest.
Two suspects will be facing charges of theft of motor vehicle while the other five were charged for possession of a stolen property. A few weeks ago, Weenen SAPS and the Pietermaritzburg Public Order Police recovered a VW Polo at Sahlumbe area in Weenen. The suspects fled the scene upon seeing the police officers. Preliminary investigation revealed that the vehicle was stolen in Mondlo. The five suspects are appearing before the Colenso Magistrate’s Court facing charges of possession of stolen property.
The KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Khombinkosi Jula praised the team for uncovering the chop shop and the arrest of the suspects. “The suspects will be profiled to establish if they are linked to other theft of vehicles as well as carjacking cases reported,” he said.
