Local resident in dock over alleged vehicle theft

Alfred Malebe, a 33-year-old local resident appeared in the Polokwa­ne Magistrate’s on Monday on suspicion of theft of luxury vehicles following his arrest during a Police operation in Ivy Park on Friday.
Neither Provincial Police Spokesperson Moatshe Ngoepe nor Westenburg Police Spokesperson Maphure Manamela could confirm the outcome of the case.
Ngoepe said the operation formed part of the Festive Season operations and was conducted by members of the Crime Intelligence Unit, Provincial Tracking Team and provincial detectives.
“The suspect is facing charges of possession of suspected stolen property after being caught in possession of three stolen vehicles valued at approximately R3 million. All vehicles were fitted with cloned registration numbers,” Ngoepe explained.
He added that Police confiscated a Toyota Hilux, BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz S63. The Toyota and BMW were recently hijacked in Hartbeespoortdam and Mamelodi respectively.
The Mercedes-Benz was registered in Lesotho and the circumstances of the vehicle’s history are still being investigated, according to Ngoepe.
Meanwhile Police found a large amount of groceries in Motetema outside Groblersdal Thursday night.
“The groceries were hidden in the bush next to the road and preliminary investigations revealed that it might be part of a load transported by a truck which was hijacked in Groblersdal early last week. No arrests have been made yet and investigations continue,” Ngoepe said.

Story: RC Myburgh
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Featured photo: Two of the three luxury vehicles confiscated during a law enforcement operation in Ivy Park.