[imagesource:wikimediacommons]

The small community of Dludluma in Mpumalanga has been besieged by car smugglers transporting stolen vehicles across the border into nearby Mozambique.

It has become such a common occurrence that criminals have cut the border fence between the two countries every 10 metres to make it easier to transport stolen vehicles without notice.

Residents stated they don’t feel comfortable in their own houses anymore because crooks are “all over the place.” They also attract younger people to work for them because jobs are scarce in Dludluma and the traffickers have plenty of money.

According to SABC News, at least 13 suspects have already been arrested by the SAPS and are expected to appear in court shortly. Three of them have been identified as illegal foreign nationals from Mozambique.

“We’re suffering, mainly because we have illegal foreigners here who are leading this thing. They keep on recruiting people within the village because they have money and obviously people like the idea of getting money even through illegal means,” says a Dludluma resident.

Mpumalanga SAPS spokesperson Donald Mdhluli stated that the authorities had already recovered 30 stolen automobiles in the area since the beginning of 2024. Most of these vehicles come from Gauteng and Mpumalanga.

Mdhluli believes the smugglers are part of a large syndicate, as those responsible for transporting stolen cars across the border are rarely the same people who originally seized them from their lawful owners.

“Before they can take the vehicles to nearby countries, they will hide them somewhere, and our investigation has realised that it looks like a syndicate, where others that didn’t hijack the vehicle would then take them across the border,” he said.

The small community of Dludluma meanwhile still live in fear.

[source:topauto]