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Durban - Police and vehicle tracking operators swooped on six alleged truck thieves and a group of Bangladeshi shopkeepers, recovering thousands of rands worth of stolen retail goods on Sunday.
The raid, which followed the theft of the truck and its cargo in Pinetown, saw officers bust both the buyers and sellers of stolen goods.
Police spokesperson Major Thulani Zwane said officers had been alerted to the theft of the fully laden truck on Sunday afternoon.
Zwane said that it was believed that a security guard had been duped into handing over the keys of the delivery lorry which had been fully stocked with goods - much of it fruit juice, destined for a convenience store.
"At about 16:00 the complainant parked his truck and left. When he returned, he was informed by the security guard that an unknown man informed him that he was sent by the complainant to take the truck away," Zwane said.
Zwane said that the truck's owner had alerted his tracking company, which dispatched operators into the field to follow the signal emitted by the stolen truck.
Within hours, the truck and the six alleged thieves were cornered in Jacobs near Wentworth.
"The complainant informed the tracking company and the truck was recovered at Jacobs," Zwane added.
Well-placed sources, who could not be named, confirmed to News24 that the alleged thieves had allegedly tried to hawk the goods from the truck to Bangladeshi shopkeepers.
Four foreign nationals were arrested and charged with accepting stolen property.
