The South African officials will this week hand over to the Botswana government one of the most wanted suspects who is part of a foreign criminal syndicate.
Information passed to The Sunday Standard indicates that the suspect has been on the most-wanted-list for a very long time and is alleged to be part of a notorious criminal syndicate that specializes in second hand motor vehicles, mainly Japanese models.
He will be extradited to Botswana on Wednesday this week through the Tlokweng border post.
It is understood that the suspect, Nkosinathi Moyo, a Zimbabwean national, is wanted in Botswana for a number of car theft cases.
Moyo will be the first suspect this year to be extradited by the South African government to Botswana.
Detective Assistant Superintendent Idani Rockie of Motor Vehicle theft Unit at Serious Crime Squad told The Sunday Standard that Moyo, 35, will be charged with a series of motor vehicle theft charges.
“Momentarily, I am unable to disclose the number of motor vehicles in which he is implicated because some of them are still under investigation,” he said
Rockie said that Moyo was arrested by the South African Police Service while driving a stolen motor vehicle that was believed to be heading in the general direction of Mozambique.
“We have identified that Mozambique is a black market where most of the Japanese cars that are being stolen from Botswana are sold.”
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However, he said they are also worried about the increasing number of Japanese vehicles that are being stolen, especially in Gaborone, adding that most of these cars are stolen while they are parked at flats or residential areas.
Rockie said the most affected types are the Toyota Corollas, Rave 4 and small trucks, just to name a few.
Security, he said, has been tightened along the Tlokweng border post, especially along the boundary line where most of the motor vehicle criminal syndicates use ungazetted point entry after they have stolen vehicles.
He added that they are also monitoring the situation at Ramatlabama boundary line between Botswana and South Africa.
