A HIJACKED Toyota Hilux recovered by police has again been stolen…out of the Empangeni SAPS impound yard.
The theft occurred on Wednesday night at around 10pm, SAPS spokesman Mbongeni Mdlalose confirmed on Friday.
What makes the crime all the more daring, however, is the manner in which the vehicle was taken.
At the Empangeni police station, the impound yard is situated behind a cluster of offices used by top brass.
To get a vehicle out the yard, one has to travel past these offices, past the section which houses the charge office and past the area which houses the K9 Unit.
The suspects would have had to push or drive the double-cab bakkie on the path between the charge office and the K9 unit to exit the station premises.
And it seems they did just that.
Mdlalose confirmed the suspects cut the padlock on the gate to the yard and took only the one vehicle, and that SAPS members were on duty inside the charge office at the time of the theft.
He also confirmed the vehicle was owned by a government department, and was one of the vehicles taken during a spate of hijackings of government vehicles over the past year.
Meanwhile a police source confirmed to the Zululand Observer that for the heist to have succeeded, it must have been an ‘inside job’.
While he could not be drawn into extensive details, he said he knew ‘for sure’ the suspects had help from an SAPS member.
Another senior Empangeni SAPS member who did not wish to named, called the incident ‘an embarrassment’.
Mdlalose confirmed that a case of theft of motor vehicle was opened.
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