A 43-year old man is under arrest for possession of a variety of suspected stolen property worth hundreds of thousands of Rands, after police on Thursday afternoon, 03 December 2020 recovered presumably stolen property from a car dealership in Randfontein.
Police from the West Rand District operationalised information of the possibly stolen property and on arrival at the dealership on Steyer Street and Main Reef Road found a storeroom with over 100 step-ladders worth an estimated value of R100 000. The consignment was processed and has since been confirmed as coming from a truck that was recently hijacked in Zonkizizwe and found abandoned in Benoni.
A further search on the premises led to the recovery of electric cable drums worth about R700 000 and it was determined that these were previously sold to Eskom and the City of Tshwane.
Still, on the scene, the vehicle crime investigating unit (VCIU) was activated and the team found a motorcycle that was confirmed as stolen in Ventersdorp in August; and another one also confirmed as stolen in August in Brakpan. Furthermore, the engines of a Nissan NP300 and a Toyota Run-X were found tampered with and the two vehicles were seized; while an unlicensed Harley Davidson trailer was found, as well as a petrol trailer.
More investigations on the premises led to a further discovery of about ten tumble dryer washing machines plus 15 boxes of sunscreen, and plastic hand gloves. A variety of table knives as well as wristwatches were also found in the storeroom and have since been confirmed as part of a consignment from a hijacked truck as per case reported last month, November in Boksburg North.
Investigations continue as police seek to determine ownership of other suspected stolen properties and establish possible linkage to more robberies and hijackings.
The District Commissioner of West Rand, Major General Fred Kekana took charge of the crime scene from Thursday evening through to Friday afternoon, describing it as a significant success in the District’s operational plan to combat courier van robberies and truck hijackings.
“This could be the breakthrough we have been striving for in our concerted effort to bring down trio crimes, especially truck hijackings and courier van robberies. We have seen these incidents go down since the inception of the dedicated task team in the West Rand,” the District Commissioner cited.
Lieutenant General Elias Mawela, the Provincial Commissioner of Gauteng, commended the West Rand District team and urged them to continue the good work towards making Gauteng a safe place for its residents and visitors.
A 43-year old man is under arrest for possession of a variety of suspected stolen property https://t.co/97GkuXpSQI#ArriveAlive #StolenProperty #TrioCrimes @SAPoliceService pic.twitter.com/f6Ytvbv8V9
— Arrive Alive (@_ArriveAlive) December 7, 2020