Police investigations on stolen vehicles continue
CALISTUS KOLANTSHO
Correspondent
| Wednesday March 13, 2013 00:00
The commander at Selebi-Phikwe Police Station, Superintendent Victor Nlebesi said in an interview that they have managed to recover a BMW and Corolla sedans and they are still following every lead to find an Isuzu bakkie.The BMW was found abandoned along the A1 highway while the Corolla was recovered by police in Victoria Falls following a tip-off.
He stated that the police have since realised that the vehicles that are stolen from Selebi-Phikwe are taken outside the country.'The criminals have realised that there are some border gates that do not have strict patrols and they are using that to their advantage. 'In the past three weeks we have not received any reports of stolen vehicles but we never know the syndicate might strike anytime,' he warned.
Nlebesi said the vehicles are mostly stolen at odd hours and the police have introduced staggered roadblocks on all the main roads leaving or entering the mining town. He explained that the police have to study the make of the vehicles stolen, what time the offences are mostly committed and the time that the incidents occured. He noted that at the moment the criminals are targeting any vehicle. He said in the cases of two of the vehicles that were stolen, the criminals used the original keys of the vehicles that they stole from the houses after breaking in.
Nlebisi urged all vehicles owners to ensure that their vehicle keys are in a secure place before retiring to bed. He said that people must always make sure that the gates to their yards are locked all the time. He advised residents of the mining town to always investigate when dogs bark at night. He said that barking dogs can always assist even police officers patrolling on foot.
In another matter, Nlebesi said the extradition of Moses Moyo who is one of the suspects arrested by Zimbabwean police is still being processed. Moyo is a Motswana born in Palapye to a Motswana mother and a Zimbabwean father. He lives in Zimbabwe and is using Zimbabwean emergency travel documents. The Serious Crime Squad in Gaborone wants the suspect on motor vehicle theft suspicions over a vehicle that was found abandoned at Ramokgwebane border gate.
The director of public relations, research and information at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Diabi Mmualefhe told Mmegi that Botswana and Zimbabwe do not have an extradition treaty. He explained that the treaty is still being discussed but the two countries have a Joint Permanent Commission on Cooperation (JPCC), which is used to exchange criminals. Mmualefhe noted that the cooperation covers a number of issues whilst still waiting for the extradition treaty to be finalised.