A JOINT initiative by Cradock and the Komani police Vehicle Crime Investigation Unit recently pounced on informal car sellers in Komani where they seized 19 different types and models of suspected stolen vehicles.
The fleet of second-hand sedans and bakkies displayed outside Komani in the direction of Whittlesea was confiscated and impounded for verification of registration documents and ownership.
The operation was led by the Eastern Cape SAPS Provincial Commissioner, Lt-Gen Liziwe Ntshinga.
Ntshinga said the confiscation was part of a covert operation where police had been working on intelligence-driven information about illegal activities and the sale of suspected stolen vehicles.
According to Ntshinga, preliminary investigations confirmed some of the police’s suspicions.
“The two neighbouring clusters, Cradock and Komani, combined resources and under the direction and leadership of Brigadier Madoda Zamkana of the Cradock cluster and Brigadier Pumla Mavuka of the Komani cluster, the operation was effected and elevated to actually visiting the suspicious areas,” she said.
The owners were invited to produce official papers at the Komani police station for the vehicles to be released.
Department of Home Affairs and Immigration was asked to confirm the documentation and status of some of the foreign nationals who were at the scene with the vehicles.
The operation continued to raid scrap yards to check for compliance and illegal activities.
Ntshinga commended the members from the two clusters for sharing resources and expertise for a good course.
“You must stamp your authority, work with integrity and resist all forms of bribes and corruption,” she said to the officers who carried out the operation.
