By OBAKENG MAJE
8 April 2025- Four suspects, who were part of a syndicate that stole three new Ford Rangers from Car dealership in Zeerust early Monday morning, were arrested. The suspects were arrested during a chase by the police, Gauteng Airwing Highway patrol and Traffic North West Eagles.
According to the information, during the early morning hours of Monday, 7 April 2025, a business break-in was allegedly committed by unknown suspects from Gauteng, where three brand new Ford Ranger Double Cab bakkies were stolen.
It was during a combined effort between the above-mentioned role players that the location of the stolen bakkies were obtained, while enroute to Gauteng.
The North West MEC for Community Safety and Transport Management, Wessels Morweng said, the Response Vehicles and Airwing were activated, which led to the recovery of three stolen bakkies and successful arrest of four suspects in different areas as the bakkies went in completely different directions. Morweng has sent a strong message to criminals who still think that they can come to the North West and do as they please.
“Our men and women in blue with Eagles traffic team are working day and night to make sure that criminals are flushed out and the car syndicate that has been brewing and thinking that our province is a playground, your days are numbered.
“As I have made a call to the community members to work together, we can reduce crime and make our province safer for anybody who stays here or wants to tour our province,” he said.
Morweng further said they have to make sure that the province is user friendly and nobody can invest in a crime environment, hence they are out there to deal with criminals. He added that the suspects were arrested in Koster, Tarlton and Randfontein, for possession of stolen property and will be linked to the original case of business breaking and theft of vehicles in Zeerust.
“The police investigations are still ongoing to find out if there are more people involved in the syndicate. The total value of the recovered cars is estimated at R1.8 million,” said Morweng.
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