Mogoditshane police have recently revealed that theft of motor vehicles has escalated in their policing area. Even though there were no readily available statistics to support his remarks, Mogoditshane Police Station commander, Superintendent Russ Letsebe said motor vehicle theft is keeping police on their toes with the Tsolamosese location being the most prevalent.
He told The Monitor they usually record one or two cases in a week and in most cases, the stolen vehicles are never recovered. The concern follows an incident in which a cab driver was attacked by ‘customers’ who had sought services from him but robbed him of his vehicle, mobile phone, and money amounting to P1,500 on Saturday night in Ledumadumane, Mogoditshane. “They had presented themselves as customers only to attack him on the way, demanding cash, his mobile phone, and robbing him of his car. Investigations into the matter are ongoing to locate the unknown suspects who are still at large with the stolen car,” he said.
Letsebe said it is only in a few cases which they manage to recover the stolen vehicles or find them abandoned after suspected use in criminal activities. He added that the models that are mostly targeted are Honda Fit and Toyota RunX. “This crime is escalating because of the available market as it appears that they are sold or stripped for parts. It is also exacerbated by vehicle owners who fail to install basic security features such as alarms,” he said.
