A 41-year-old Tanzanian man was arrested by the police from Vehicle Investigation Section working in collaboration with officials from the South African International Crime Bereau.
The arrest was effected about 10 kilometers from Carolina after the man was allegedly found driving a white Toyota Fortuner which was reportedly stolen in Witbank in February 2023.
According to the information the members were busy with their normal routine work when they spotted the suspicious vehicle, white Toyota Fortuner. The astute members stopped and inspected the said vehicle and upon further investigation they discovered that the car was in fact reported stolen in February this year.
They then arrested the man and charged him for possession of suspected stolen property. Upon searching inside the car, members were astonished to discover about 40 blank papers which are usually used for issuing of renewals, registration and vehicle certificates.
This led Police to believe that he could possibly be involved in dodgy dealings involving theft of motor vehicles which are somehow frequently smuggled out of the country.
When examining his passport, members were further convinced that he may be one of the suspects that police could have been looking for with regard to massive theft of cars in the country.
Part of the probe will also zoom into how the man got hold of the said papers.
Currently he also face a charge of fraud after the men and women in Blue discovered some alleged discrepancy in the papers that he possessed for the vehicle in question.
Ibrahim Kampembe appeared at the Carolina Magistrate’s court on 8 March 2023, where the case was postponed to 13 March 2023 for further investigation meanwhile the suspect remained in custody.
As the investigation continues, police cannot rule out the possibility of adding more charges against him in relation to the case of theft of motor vehicle in Witbank.
The Acting Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Major General Zeph Mkhwanazi has expressed his gratitude to the exceptional work performed by the members which resulted in the recovery of the vehicle as well as the arrest of the suspect. “We strongly believe that through investigation, we can uncover more. We have been conducting some operations for a while surrounding the theft, robbery and hijacking of motor vehicles in the country. We really acknowledge with much appreciation the magnificent breakthrough and the work done by these members together with their counterparts from the South African International Crime Bereau,” said Major General Mkhwanazi.
