October, 2007
An alleged vehicle thief was arrested yesterday (September 29, 2007) after Tracker and the SAPS tracked a stolen vehicle to a cemetery in Mamelodi East, Pretoria.
The man was found inebriated, sleeping behind the wheel of the stolen car and was surprised when members of the Pretoria Flying Squad roused him from his slumber.
"It's unclear why the suspect drove the vehicle to a cemetery in the first place and then decided to have a quick nap. We believe he might have thought that a graveyard was a clever place to hide out for a while, but was dead tired from his apparent drinking," says Tracker's Communications Manager, Gareth Crocker.
The vehicle was reported stolen from a property in Centurion and recovered within an hour. The suspect was unarmed at the time of his arrest.
"Many vehicle criminals use public places to park stolen and hijacked vehicles to 'cool off' as they wait to see if they are being followed by either the police or a tracking company. Busy hospitals, airports and parkades are often targeted, but cemeteries are seldom chosen as there is often no obvious place for criminals to hide while observing the vehicle from a safe distance," explains Crocker.
For more information, please contact Gareth Crocker, Communications Manager for Tracker on gcrocker@tracker.co.za, (011) 380 0300 or 082 78 78 757.