Police detectives have arrested three men in Beitbridge who stole a vehicle from South Africa and smuggled it into the country via the Limpopo River near the Tshitulipasi area.
After smuggling
the Ford Ranger double cab in Boksburg, South Africa, Bester Moyo, Admit Moyo
and Freddy Mugabe along with another suspect still at large they stripped the
car of various accessories which they tried to sell in Beitbridge town.
They also burnt
the wreckage of the vehicle to conceal the evidence in the bush along the
patrol road that runs 20km parallel to Zimbabwe and South Africa’s boundary.
The police
officer commanding Beitbridge (Dispol), Chief Superintendent Melusi Ncube said
on Wednesday that the trio was arrested on Independence Day while selling the
vehicle’s accessories.
“We have
charged them for theft of a motor vehicle and our team has recovered the
vehicle’s shell and some of the stripped accessories that the suspects were
selling around Beitbridge,” said the Dispol.
“According to
the information we have so far, indications are that the vehicle was
high-jacked in Boksburg on March 28 before being smuggled into the country
through an illegal crossing point at the Limpopo River.
“Upon getting
in Zimbabwe, they hid the vehicle in the bush where they stripped it of all its
accessories and carried them using a donkey pulled cart to a hideout. After
which they started selling the vehicle’s parts leading to their arrest while
selling the gear box in the town towards Easter holidays”.
He said further
investigations into the matter were underway and that the police were not
relenting as they continue to crack down on crime along the Limpopo River.
Chief Supt
Ncube said the trio had since been sent to the local regional court charged for
theft of a motor vehicle.
The suspects
have since been granted USD150 bail pending trial each and are expected to
appear before Ms Charity Maphosa on May 8.
The smuggling
of vehicles has become rampant around the border line and the government is
losing millions of dollars in import revenue annually.
Indications are
that most of these cars are stolen from rental cars in South Africa while
thefts are orchestrated by insurance fraud syndicates in that country.
On insurance
fraud, the vehicles are clandestinely sold and smuggled out of South Africa,
after which their owners working with syndicates then report them stolen and
claim insurance money. Herald
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