Pretoria – A 31-year-old woman, Felecity Boitumelo Tshwarelo Menyayiso was granted R4 000 bail during her court appearance before the Komatipoort Magistrate’s Court after she was arrested for possession of a suspected stolen vehicle.
Mpumalanga police spokesperson, Brigadier Selvy Mohlala said Menyayiso is scheduled to make her second court appearance on October 4.
“Her court appearance follows her arrest after she was found driving a vehicle worth about R1.5m which was reported stolen in Randburg, Gauteng province, last month,” Mohlala said.
“Intelligent driven information was received on Thursday, 1 September 2022 that there was a white suspected stolen Lexus with Gauteng registration number plates en route to Lebombo port of entry which was due to be smuggled out of the country.”
Mohlala said an urgent operation was set up by Lebombo port of entry tracing team on the N4 at about 11am which resulted in the arrest of the South African female driver who was with a Mozambican male passenger.
The passenger was later released after preliminary police investigations revealed that the man had been given a lift by the woman.
Provincial commissioner of police in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela has commended the work done in the fight against the smuggling of vehicles from the country into neighbouring countries.
“The cry by our citizens regarding mass smuggling of suspected stolen vehicles from the country into neighbouring countries has been heard and police as well as other law enforcement agencies are working tirelessly to deal with the situation,” she said.
“We further appreciate the people that are reporting such activities to the authorities.”
Last week, police in Limpopo arrested two people after the recovery of two vehicles, a Toyota Hilux Legend 50 and a Toyota Hilux GD6 with a combined value of R1.5m which were reported stolen in Hartbeespoort and Tembisa in Gauteng.
Spokesperson for the SAPS in Limpopo, Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo said “persistent operations” being conducted in the province targeting crime, including the smuggling of vehicles and other stolen goods across the border, continues to yield positive results with the recovery of the two vehicles.
The vehicles were intercepted on Thursday at Nyl Plaza toll gate in the Mokopane policing area.
“The two drivers, a South African, aged 52, and a Lesotho national, aged 25, were immediately arrested after the initial probe indicated that the vehicles, worth R1.2m combined, were hijacked in Tembisa and Hartbeespoort in Gauteng province, respectively, and were to be smuggled into Zambia via Beitbridge port of entry,” Mojapelo said.
“Members of the Limpopo Tracking Team and the Mahwelereng Flying Squad conducted a joint operation after receiving information from the Crime Intelligence unit about two hijacked motor vehicles, a Toyota Hilux Legend 50 and Toyota Hilux 2.8 GD6 that were to be smuggled out of the country. One of the vehicles was fitted with false registration numbers from Lesotho,” Mojapelo said.
IOL