By Doreen Mokgolo
Over 17 stolen cars used in crimes in Eswatini have been found at the Ekurhuleni Pound Centre.
Some of the cars have been there for a year without anyone claiming them, despite repeated calls by the metro to the vehicle owners.
On Wednesday, a team from Eswatini police and Interpol inspected the cars.
The visit came after Ekurhuleni asked the owners of over 100 impounded cars to come forward last week.
Ekurhuleni spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said many of the impounded cars come from SADC countries.
“In some cases, the foreign registration numbers have been changed to South African numbers, but the chassis numbers reveal their origin,” he said.
Dlamini said the unclaimed cars will be auctioned to recover storage costs.
“It costs the metro R2,000 for a small car and R5,000 for big vehicles like trucks per day for storage.
“Cars are stored for 120 days before they are auctioned if unclaimed. Some cars have been here since January last year,” he said.
A representative from Eswatini, who wished to remain anonymous for safety reasons, said some cars were bought in their country but not registered in their system.
“Owners of these cars can’t be traced and may commit crimes in neighbouring countries. We hope this process will help solve some of these cases,” he said.
Pictured above: Officials inspecting the cars.
Source: Doreen Mokgolo
