Drugs discovered in workshop courtesy car
NORTH RIDING – An early morning school run came to a halt for one family after discovering a bag of drugs in their car.
A man made a shocking discovery after he found two kilograms of crystal meth on the floor of a vehicle loaned to him by a local car workshop on 17 September.
Izak van der Watt was given a courtesy car to drive by a local workshop after his own vehicle was booked in for repairs.
“My car was fixed a few weeks ago, but a few days later, the turbo blew and my car had to be repaired a second time. I told them that I could not wait for the repairs, so I requested that they provide me with a courtesy vehicle,” Van der Watt said.
The workshop organised a small Renault Clio for the customer to drive.
Van der Watt continued, “The car was parked in my driveway, and on Monday morning I started the car for my wife and loaded the kids into the car for school.
I moved the passenger seat forward to load their school bags, and I discovered a small bag on the floor underneath the passenger seat.”
Van der Watt immediately called the Douglasdale Police, who took the drugs as evidence in a matter currently under investigation by the Hawks.
The franchisee for the car workshop, who wishes to remain anonymous, alleged that the courtesy vehicle was impounded and cleared for release after a police and Hawks investigation.
The franchisee said, “We bought the Renault from a customer who could not afford to pay for their repairs, and before selling the car, we issued it as a courtesy car to another customer.
This is something that we usually do not do, as our branch does not have courtesy cars, but we felt sorry for her as she has small children and needs transport.
“A few days later, we received a call from her in distress saying that she had lost the car after she lent it to somebody.”
After searching for the car at various police stations, the franchisee found the car at the Lenasia VIS Vehicle Impound.
The franchisee discovered that the vehicle had been used by a drug syndicate, and was impounded after a police raid.
After a week, the vehicle was released to the franchisee as evidence had been sufficiently collected. The vehicle was then issued to Van der Watt on 15 September.
Van der Watt said, “I was startled. You do not expect to find something like that in a courtesy car.
I do not want to imagine what would have happened if I was pulled over by the police… One individual will not be driving around with two kilograms of crystal meth on them.”
The Randburg Sun is awaiting comment from the police.
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