Stolen Vehicle Recovery leaders, Tracker, together with the support of the SAPS, made 10 arrests around the country during a frenetic three-hour period last night (May 8, 2007) which included the recovery of seven hijacked and stolen vehicles and a suspected chop shop bust which yielded a further five stolen vehicles.
The chop shop was discovered in Pretoria after a client contacted Tracker following a misunderstanding with an employee of his regarding the activation of his vehicle's Tracker.
"The client's Tracker was only activated yesterday despite the vehicle being stolen a month ago. Apparently the owner of the vehicle thought the driver had contacted us to activate the Tracker, when in fact this wasn't the case. Fortunately, the belated track led us to this suspected chop-shop where two
arrests were made and a further five vehicles recovered. It appears that the engine and chassis numbers had been tampered with and the vehicles were being prepared to be sold to potential buyers," says Gareth Crocker, Communications Manager for Tracker.
In another incident, Tracker made six arrests after a stolen kombi was tracked to Tembisa.
"As the Stolen Vehicle Recovery (SVR) industry begins to mature in South Africa, there can be no debate about the impact the industry is having on vehicle crime. This is particularly encouraging considering that vehicle crime is often at the centre of other forms of violent crime such as armed robberies, cash heists and murders. Since the start of the year, Tracker has already recovered more than 1500 vehicles and, together with the invaluable support of the SAPS, made some 250 arrests," says Crocker.
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