Two men believed to be linked to a series of VW Polo thefts in the Rondebosch area have been arrested, say police.
Police made the arrests on Tuesday March 5, at about 10.45am, after officers responded to a complaint about a suspicious vehicle – described as a white VW Polo – parked at the UCT Middle Campus on Cross Campus Road.
“In light of VW Polos being stolen and covert operations focusing on the VW Polo problem in the area, a flying squad vehicle responded. Upon arriving at the scene, the members checked and discovered that the VW car’s registration number was cloned,” said Rondebosch police spokesman Warrant Officer Lyndon Sisam.
Officers approached the two occupants in the car and searched the vehicle, which was owned by the driver, according to Warrant Officer Sisam.
“During the search, car-breaking-in implements were discovered, such as a VW computer box, which they use once they break into a car. They quickly switch out the installed computer box with their reprogrammed hardware.
“An Allen key sharpened on the end to force open vehicle doors, screwdrivers and other items were found inside the VW polo,” said Warrant Officer Sisam.
The suspects, who are aged 45 and 49, have a string of prior convictions for vehicle theft and theft from vehicles, according to Warrant Officer Sisam. They were arrested for possession of tools used to break into vehicles and they appeared in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court last Thursday.
Police are investigating whether the men are linked to a series of VW Polo thefts in the area, and Warrant Office Sisam said more charges could follow.
Five VW Polos have been stolen in Rondebosch in the past month (“Crime up in Kenywn, Rondebosch East,” Southern Suburbs Tatler, March 7), and there was a similar spate of thefts in the area in July last year (“Spate of VW Polo thefts in Rondebosch,” Southern Suburbs Tatler, August 3, 2023).
Warrant Office Sisam said police suspected the Polo thieves were somehow able to reprogramme the cars’ keys, allowing them to start the vehicles, lock or unlock doors, and control the alarms.
