Forty-five stolen and hijacked vehicles were recovered over two weeks in KwaZulu-Natal.

The total value of recovered vehicles is estimated to be about R3.5 million.

“Police officers from the Vehicle Crime Investigation unit embarked on a project to trace and recover stolen and hijacked vehicles that are in the hands of members of the community. The operation began on June 24 and ended on July 7 and resulted in the recovery of 45 stolen and hijacked vehicles‚” police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Thulani Zwane said on Sunday.

 One man was arrested during the operation.

 “More arrests are expected as the investigations progresses‚” Zwane said.

 The operation was conducted jointly by various police units together with the Insurance Crime Bureau.

 “During the operation police identified several vehicles were altered or had their identification numbers changed and were reintroduced into the eNatis System by vehicle crime syndicates. These vehicles were then sold to members of the community‚” Zwane said.

He warned the public to be cautious when buying vehicles from private sellers who advertise on various media platforms.

 KwaZulu-Natal acting provincial commissioner Major-General Bheki Langa warned syndicates that similar operations are to be conducted more regularly.

“Members of the community are also warned not to collude with these criminals by buying vehicles that have been cloned as it is only a matter of time before the long arm of the law catches up with you.

 “Whilst there might be cases where these cloned vehicles are sold to unsuspecting members of the community‚ we are also aware that in many cases members of the public are aware of these dodgy practices and collude with criminals to buy vehicles for a fraction of their value. This contributes to our high rate of stolen and hijacking vehicles as well as the despair it brings to victims of crime‚” he said.