Four Zimbabweans have been arrested after they stole a Toyota Land Cruiser in South Africa and brought it into Zimbabwe using a fake South African registration. A South African national who was part of the gang was also arrested.
John Lasiga Mkhonto, 37, Sibusiso Mpofu, 44, Nebi Mqawi, 39, Raymond Tshabalala, 29, and Fulani Nhlezio, 38, appeared before a Harare magistrate charged with car theft, the Herald reported.
They were remanded in custody and advised to apply for bail in the High Court. The court heard that on 28 August 2024, the accused stole a white Toyota Land Cruiser with registration number KLM388NW and chassis number TW1BV71J204900122 in Pretoria, South Africa.
They then created a fake business registration in South Africa and a fake temporary import permit in Mkonto’s name. On 2 September 2024, Mkonto, accompanied by his accomplices, drove the car and smuggled it into Zimbabwe bound for Harare.
They were stopped at a police checkpoint at ZRP Featherston. The police officers standing at the checkpoint asked Mkonto to show the vehicle documents and he gave them the fake ones.
The officers noticed that the details mentioned in the documents did not match those mentioned in the vehicle.
It turned out that the registration number KLM389NW was different from the number on the car’s license plate KLM388NW.
