Car 'too big' for thief

2008-08-06 16:08

Tshwarelo eseng Mogakane

Nelspruit - Quick-thinking police followed a hunch and arrested a man who was planning to smuggle a stolen sport utility vehicle (SUV) into Mozambique.

The 25-year-old man was pulled off the N4 highway near Nelspruit at about 17:00 on Tuesday when police officers who were on patrol spotted him in a 4x4 Land Rover that "looked too big for him ".

"Usually such a beautiful vehicle would have passed undetected as they are difficult to steal. But when the officers saw how young the lad was, they had a hunch that something was wrong, " said Mpumalanga police spokesperson, Superintendent Abie Khoabane, on Wednesday.

He said the suspect was unable to explain himself to the police.

'He was too young'

"It became obvious that he had stolen the 4x4. His youth and being alone in the vehicle gave him away," said Khoabane.

He said police immediately ran checks on the registration of the vehicle and discovered that it had been reported stolen in Johannesburg that morning.

He said the leader of the police patrol unit, Superintendent Thabisile Gama, and her officers suspected the vehicle was being smuggled to Mozambique, where it would be modified and then resold in South Africa.

Khoabane praised Gama's unit, saying they proved that Mpumalanga was not a freeway for criminals and smugglers.

Sharp cops

"If their eyes were not as sharp, they would have let the man pass, simply because he was driving a fancy vehicle," he said.

The suspect is in custody at the Nelspruit police station on charges of possession of suspected stolen property.

He is expected to appear in the Nelspruit magistrate's court on Thursday.

Khoabane said police planned to return the SUV to its rightful owner.

- African Eye