Hi-Tech Nelspruit and local farmers help recover stolen bakkie and four-wheeler
Some suspects had stolen a Mahindra bakkie and a four-wheeler from a property along the R37 early this morning, February 16. Both were recovered soon after the theft.
Several Hi-Tech Nelspruit officers worked with local farmers to recover a bakkie and a four-wheeler that had both been stolen from a property near Sterkspruit along the R37 this morning, February 16.
Hi-Tech Nelspruit’s Frank Swanepoel said a farmer claims he was driving on the R37 towards his property between 04:00 and 05:00 when he saw a Mahindra bakkie driving in the opposite direction.
Swanepoel said the farmer did not realise immediately that the bakkie was his, and when he turned back to look at the vehicle, he saw it stop on the road.
Three men suddenly got out of the vehicle and ran into the nearby bushes.
The farmer said when he approached the Mahindra, he saw it was indeed his. He called Hi-Tech Nelspruit for help.
Swanepoel said it is believed the suspects had realised the owner of the bakkie had spotted them, and that is why they had alighted from the vehicle and bolted.
While the farmer waited for Hi-Tech, he went to the storeroom where he had parked his bakkie to check if anything else had been stolen, and realised the four-wheeler was also gone.
Hi-Tech Nelspruit’s officers arrived and began searching the bushes for the suspects, while several local farmers, whom the farmer had called for assistance, conducted aerial searches for the four-wheeler.
It was found hidden away in some bushes.
Swanepoel said they suspect the three men had stashed the four-wheeler just before the farmer had spotted them. He said they suppose the men had intended to retrieve it at a later stage, when the coast was clear.
