A total of five stolen and hijacked motor vehicles, including a delivery truck have been recovered by the Police this weekend in Limpopo.
This was during a heightened safer festive season operations conducted across the Province from Friday 16 December 2022 until Sunday morning.
In one of the recoveries, the Scania truck that was allegedly hijacked in Johannesburg on Thursday, was intercepted along the N1, Bandelierkop on Friday. The truck was being driven from the direction of Polokwane towards Makhado by a 33 year old suspect. He was immediately arrested.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the truck, with two trailers, was fully laden with a cargo of cooking oil worth thousands of rands.
HIJACKED MOTOR VEHICLES
In another unrelated Incident, a Toyota Raider was reportedly hijacked from its 33-year-old owner at Maila village in Vhembe District. It was later recovered in Munzhedzi village on Friday night 2022-12-16 by Bandelierkop Police . It is reported that the victim was accosted by three suspects armed with firearms who drove away with the vehicle
In another successful operation the Police in Marble Hall recovered a stolen motor vehicle on a roadblock. It was reported stolen in Benoni SAPS in Gauteng and arrested a male suspect.
In Thohoyandou, the Police reacted to the information about a white Volkswagen Polo that was hijacked in Thohoyandou CBD. The said motor vehicle was recovered at Mavhunda village following a search operation. No suspects were found. The vehicle was found with a bullet hole on the right door and the driver’s window was smashed. A search for the suspects continues.
In Mopani District under Mokwakwaila policing area, a 37-year-old victim was allegedly robbed of his motor vehicle. A Mercedes Benz at gunpoint by four unknown male suspects in Motsinoni village in Mokwakwaila Policing area on Friday 16 December 2022. The Police subsequently recovered the vehicle. They arrested one of the suspects the next day on Saturday 17 December 2022 in Acornhoek policing precinct in Mpumalanga. The other three suspects also evaded the arrest.
POLICE COMMISSIONER REACT
The Provincial Commissioner of Police in Limpopo Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe has commended the members for continuing to give effect on the implementation of the Safer Festive Season Operations.
“As we also put more boots on the ground to ensure enhanced Police visibility during this period. We urge our communities to continue assisting in the fight against all forms of crime by providing valuable information,” said Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe.
A total of three suspects were arrested during these operations. They are expected to appear before various courts on Monday 19 December 2022. They face charges of possession of suspected stolen properties. More charges could be added as investigations are unfolding.
