A man in Durban has been sentenced to 5 years in prison, after he was found in possession of a stolen motor vehicle.
The car, a BMW 4 series, was reported stolen on 31 January 2018 at a Durban beachfront.
Detectives from the SAPS Provincial Vehicle Task Team arrested Masimdumise Gabriel Bhengu, 34, six weeks later. This was after finding the car parked at Pavilion shopping mall.
The man who is an MTN customer service representative claimed that he had purchased the vehicle. He said that his friend named Simo had arranged the purchase, and he had agreed to pay in installments of R8000 per month.
Magistrate Farieda Mohamed did not buy his story, saying he found his version of events evasive and elusive. The magistrate cited the spiraling theft of motor vehicles while passing her judgement.
She castigated Bhengu for being a willing partner, and facilitating such illicit business and making it lucrative.
