Under the protection of nightfall, a group of men hook a truck to their bakkie. Careful to avoid making noise, watching for any passers-by. No one must see them now.
The truck is finally hooked up and they drive off. Within minutes, they have successfully stolen a truck.
“It took place on Sunday night, August 26. The truck was parked outside on the Saturday, while I was at work. But, when I got to work on Monday, it was gone,” explains Tian Potgieter.
Shocked, Potgieter immediately checked his business’s CCTV footage and watched in horror as the perpetrators made off with the vehicle. “The truck was a client’s, which has been parked here for four years.”
Potgieter notified the SAPS. “It took a while for them to get to me, as they claim there was only one vehicle available. When they did come, they rushed me on as they said they had other cases to attend.”
Taking his report down, the police left. “I told my wife I was going to go for a drive and look for the truck. I rode all the way to oSizweni, praying the whole way to be led to my vehicle.”
Eventually, Potgieter had to stop driving. “I phoned my wife to tell I was coming back to get diesel for my vehicle. On the way back to town, I used a different route and landed up driving through Madadeni, Section 6.”
It was then that the unthinkable happened. He saw his truck standing inside a business’s premises. When he saw it, he pointed it out to a friend who had been driving with him. “There was a guy standing outside on the property. When he saw me point to the truck, he closed the gates.”
Stopping his vehicle, Potgieter asked the man what his truck was doing on the property. “He said he didn’t know. He says the truck was there when he got to work that morning.”
Potgieter phoned his brother, as well as Magenta Security and the police.
It is then that things took a more serious note. One of the officers from the Motor Vehicle Theft Unit phoned the owner of the property. “He said he knew the guy and called him, using his own personal phone. When the owner of the property got there, him and the officer shook hands and greeted each other by name,” says Potgieter.
Furthermore, the officer and the owner walked to one side and spoke privately. “The other police officers wanted to arrest him for being in possession of suspect stolen goods. But the two of them said they needed to talk in private first.”
When the two men returned, the owner of the property climbed into his car and drove off. “I was told the owner of the property is simply renting the premises. He apparently does not operate from the site and therefore can not be arrested.”
With the potential suspect driving away, Potgieter says he is concerned as his truck was not the only vehicle there.
With scores of vehicles around the property, the majority of them cut apart, Potgieter is concerned about the way the office handled the situation. “The police officer says they are not stolen, but how do we know for certain? What was my truck doing on the property? Surely, whether the man is operating there or not, he is renting the property and it was technically in his possession.”
Potgieter’s truck has since been removed from the property and is now in the police pound.
However, he feels the matter needs to be investigated fully. Is the property being used as a chop shop for car thieves? Or is there something more sinister underway?
Newcastle SAPS spokesperson, Captain Jabulani Ncube, claims the matter is being looked into. “It is currently under investigation,” he assures.
