Car theft drama

In a dramatic turn of events, a Modimolle panel-beating workshop technician has been arrested as the third suspect by investigators travelling all the way from Pretoria West, following the theft of his employer’s top-of-the-range Golf 7.

The investigators have confirmed that Bela-Bela resident Thomas Maswanganye, who works for a panel-beating outlet in Modimolle, was allegedly linked to the theft of his boss’s vehicle.

Panel-beating businessman and socialite, Jacob Tlou, arrived at his Modimolle-based workshop on Monday 10 February to find his car was missing.

Both Tlou and his employee Maswanganye are residents of Bela-Bela.

When Tlou found his car had been stolen he acted swiftly by circulating pictures of the car on social media, which led to the recovery of the then alleged stolen sedan at a spares outlet in Pretoria West.

Two alleged accomplices have since appeared in court, with Maswanganye scheduled to appear before the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court for a formal bail application this week.

Two other unidentified suspects, both based in Pretoria, are expected to once again appear before the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Thursday 26 March.

In recent weeks The BEAT has reported on how the police in various centres have had their hands full tracking down stolen or hijacked vehicles. The cases are mostly linked to the Waterberg region.

One of several such incidents was the arrest of a suspect in Bela-Bela, who allegedly stole a top-of-the-range VW Polo in Mokopane.

The suspect, George Ngobeni, was expected to appear in the Bela-Bela Magistrate’s Court this week.

He was allegedly tracked down to Bela-Bela by investigators following a tip-off from members of the community.

In a separate incident, a suspect was released on bail of R1 000, while his alleged accomplice walked free.

Bela-Bela police spokesperson, Sergeant Frans Maponya, said the suspect Thomas Makhubela (33) was expected to appear for the third time before the Bela-Bela Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday 25 March.

He is facing charges of theft and possession of an allegedly stolen vehicle.

— The BEAT