Two Malawian nationals and a South African man have been arrested after police recovered two stolen Nissan Navara bakkies worth a combined R1.5 million during separate anti-smuggling operations in Limpopo.
The arrests followed intelligence-driven operations conducted on Sunday and Monday by the South African Police Service’s Provincial Tracking Team and Provincial Investigation Unit, working alongside private security companies and vehicle tracking partners.
Police said the first operation followed information that a Nissan Navara ProMax, stolen in Springs, Gauteng, on Saturday, was being transported to the Beitbridge Port of Entry to be smuggled out of the country.
Officers set up surveillance along the N1 South in the Westernburg policing precinct, where they spotted the vehicle travelling at high speed. The driver allegedly ignored instructions to stop, prompting a high-speed chase before the vehicle was eventually intercepted.
Preliminary investigations confirmed that the bakkie had been reported stolen. The two Malawian nationals, aged 36 and 40, were arrested, while the recovered Nissan Navara ProMax is valued at approximately R900,000.
In a separate operation on Monday, police acted on intelligence about another stolen Nissan Navara believed to be heading to the Beitbridge Port of Entry.
The vehicle was intercepted on the N1 South outside Polokwane, where investigations established that it had been stolen in Alberton, Gauteng, on Friday, 31 July. The bakkie, valued at about R600,000, was recovered and a 34-year-old South African man was arrested.
Limpopo Provincial Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Jan Scheepers praised the multidisciplinary team and its private security partners for disrupting cross-border vehicle smuggling operations. He said the arrests and recoveries demonstrate the effectiveness of intelligence-led policing and reaffirmed SAPS’ commitment to dismantling vehicle theft and smuggling syndicates.
The three suspects are expected to appear in the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, while police investigations continue.
