A stolen Mercedes Benz C220 was recently recovered on the Zim side of the Limpopo River bed, just past Musina, the northernmost town in South Africa.

To get the car across the river from South Africa, theives had put metal sheets under its wheels and then attached it to donkeys.

Seriously.

The car was found after efforts to free the car from the sand failed, explained Police Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo, and police foiled the thieves’ attempts.

Another car was found in a similar position last December, so local police are now investigating whether a syndicate is behind the new practice, reports the BBC:

“The suspects were using donkeys to pull the car across the river‚ but our members were just in time to pounce on them after the donkeys were apparently no longer able to pull it through the sand,” Mr Mojapelo is quoted in local media as saying.

In case you were worried, the donkeys were unharmed:

Although the exact reason why the thieves don’t just drive the car across the border has yet to be established, BBC’s Pumza Fihlani notes that “one reason might be that most modern cars are fitted with a tracking device which uses satellite tracking to locate a vehicle, if stolen”.

You see, the tracker is only active when the car is running.

Clever, hey?

[source:bbc]