Pretoria – The Carolina Magistrate’s Court has remanded in custody, 41-year-old Tanzanian national, Ibrahim Kampembe, in custody after he was arrested while driving a stolen vehicle.
During an extensive search of the vehicle, Kampembe was found with a wand of blank documents which are issued to motorists when renewing vehicle licences, registration and vehicle certificates.
The 41-year-old was arrested by police officers from the vehicle investigation section, working in collaboration with counterparts from the South African international crime bureau.
“The arrest was effected about 10km from Carolina after the man was allegedly found driving a white Toyota Fortuner which was reportedly stolen in Witbank last month,” Mpumalanga police spokesperson, Brigadier Selvy Mohlala said.
“According to the information, the members were busy with their normal routine work when they spotted the suspicious vehicle, a white Toyota Fortuner. The astute members stopped and inspected the said vehicle and upon further investigation they discovered that the car was reported stolen in February.
The officers then arrested the Tanzanian man and charged him for possession of suspected stolen property.
“Upon searching inside the car, members were astonished to discover about 40 blank papers which are usually used for issuing of renewals, registration and vehicle certificates. This led police to believe that he could possibly be involved in dodgy dealings involving theft of motor vehicles which are somehow frequently smuggled out of the country,” Mohlala said.
“When examining his passport, members were further convinced that he may be one of the suspects that police could have been looking for with regard to massive theft of cars in the country. Part of the probe will also zoom into how the man got hold of the said papers.”
Kampembe also faces a charge of fraud after police discovered some discrepancies in the documents he possessed for the Toyota Fortuner.
On Wednesday, the case against Kampembe was postponed to March 13, for further investigation, while he remains in custody.
“As the investigation continues, police cannot rule out the possibility of adding more charges against him in relation to the case of theft of motor vehicle in Witbank,” Mohlala said.
IOL