Four people will appear before the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Monday after they were arrested by the Hawks serious organised crime investigation team for theft and possession of suspected stolen motor vehicle parts, worth an estimated R1.1 million.
The four people, aged 29, 33, 37 and 44 were arrested on Thursday last week.
“The Hawks received information from the Ford Motor Company of South Africa (FMCSA) about the possible theft of engines. Following up on the information, it was later established that the theft allegedly occurred in the premises of the FMCSA whereby a truck from a courier company was used to load racks with about 36 engines,” said Hawks spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale.
“After the truck was loaded, it exited the premises without following proper procedure and later went to offload at Charles Leyds Street in Eersterust on the instructions to the driver by the forklift instructor,” she said.
Mogale said the engine racks and forklift were found at the drop-off address, without the engines.
“Two elderly persons found in the premises explained that they did not know about the cargo.
“Four suspects including two FMCSA security personnel, a mechanical repair shop owner and the truck driver were arrested for possession of suspected stolen property,” she said.
Earlier this year, a 32-year-old man was arrested by members of the Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD), while driving a stolen Ford Ranger Wildtrak double cab vehicle.
At the time, EMPD spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Kelebogile Thepa said the 32-year-old insisted he was only taking the stolen vehicle to a car wash.
IOL