Six arrested and 9.6 million rand seized in Limpopo
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on IOL
A joint operation arrested six suspects in South Africa, recovered 10 stolen vehicles worth 3.9 million rand and seized cigarettes and controlled medicines valued at 5.7 million rand. The operations targeted Limpopo’s cross-border criminal networks between 21 September and 25 October, according to police.
Six suspects were arrested and assets estimated at 9.6 million rand (about $530,000) were seized in Limpopo during operations targeting cross-border criminal networks, according to the provincial police quoted by IOL. The South African Police Service, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and other agencies recovered 10 stolen vehicles worth 3.9 million rand, which were allegedly destined for Zimbabwe.
The operations, carried out from 21 September to 25 October along routes on the border with Zimbabwe, also led to the seizure of 252 master cases and 499 cartons of Remington Gold cigarettes, as well as 412 bottles of controlled medicines. The value of these goods was estimated at 5.7 million rand, Colonel Malesela Ledwaba, a Limpopo police spokesperson, said.
The operations targeted in particular the N1 corridor, Musina, Tshamutumbu, Makhado, Malala Drift and Sandquest. Investigators suspect that car-trafficking networks used false number plates, altered vehicle identification numbers (VINs) and erased engine numbers, according to Malesela Ledwaba.
The operation comes after the South African army seized three stolen cars worth 2.2 million rand on 22 October. It is also part of a series of car-trafficking cases, including the arrest of six men and the seizure of 12 vehicles in Colesberg on 19 October.
