KEY POINTS
- Law enforcement stopped a Toyota Corolla Cross being taken unlawfully into Zimbabwe.
- Police are still searching for the suspects.
- A similar conviction resulted in a prison term of seven years for an earlier vehicle smuggler.
SAPS’s Provincial Anti-Smuggling Unit seized a Toyota Corolla Cross as it attempted to smuggle goods across the Limpopo River into Zimbabwe.
According to Colonel Ledwaba, the police received information that the Toyota Corolla Cross was heading to the Malales Drift border.
Around 6am, police spotted a vehicle that matched the details given to them parking near the riverbank as it prepared to cross into Zimbabwe. A police team did their best to pull over the vehicle but it sped away, ending up stuck in the sand.
As officers approached the stolen Toyota Corolla, both occupants escaped to the other side of the border.
Stolen Toyota Corolla vehicle not reported stolen yet
The investigation showed that the car belonged to a private company based in South Africa. The vehicle wasn’t marked as stolen at the police station. Furthermore, police confiscated the Toyota Corolla Cross at the recovery site.
Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe applauded the alertness of the police and stressed that SAPS remains determined to fight vehicle smuggling in the region.
Convicted for transporting a stolen vehicle last year
Recently at the Mokopane Regional Court, Vusi Vincent Moloka, 46, received seven years in prison for harboring an illicitly obtained vehicle destined for Limpopo.
Police received a tip about a Toyota Fortuner with Gauteng licence plates stolen from Sandton and heading north on the N1 toward Limpopo. They also alerted security companies, which tracked the vehicle’s movement from Sandton to Limpopo along the N1 North.
Police apprehended Moloka in Modimolle as he tried to leave the country with the keys to the stolen vehicle.
Detective Sergeant Ngoepe played an instrumental role in gathering strong evidence and ensuring that Moloka’s bail was denied.
