SA cops arrest suspected car thief on flight to Harare




Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo
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JOHANNESBURG – Police have arrested a suspected car thief‚ wanted since 2014‚ at OR Tambo before his flight could take off.

Police spokesperson Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo said the police and the Aviation Safety Staff at the airport removed the passenger from a flight on Wednesday after the airplane returned to its parking bay.

He said the flight was on its way to Harare‚ Zimbabwe. Naidoo said the suspect had returned a car three years ago and never returned it.

“The Airport Aviation Safety officers managed to make contact with the airline‚ through the Airport Management Centre. The aircraft was towed back to the parking bay after all necessary protocols were adhered to‚” Naidoo said.

“An Airport Aviation Safety officer together with SAPS detectives then boarded the aircraft and the suspect was subsequently arrested‚” he said.

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Naidoo said police have made some major arrests at the airport in the past few weeks following a new revised intervention‚ meaning police at the airport were acting more proactively.

“The team tasked with this intervention‚ led by Major General Dimakatso Ndaba‚ who was appointed SAPS commander at the airport less than a month ago‚ is showing great determination‚” he said.

“These successes are the result of the intensified cooperation between the South African Police Service‚ Ekurhuleni Metro‚ airport management of OR Tambo International Airport‚ and other law enforcement agencies and government departments‚ which forms an integral part of this plan‚” Naidoo said. – Source: Soweto Live