“Mercy,” pleaded the weeping owner of an imported car as scores of vehicles were loaded on to trucks on Wednesday.
The owner was among hundreds of Eastern Cape car buyers, among them pensioners, who police say have now lost both their vehicles and the cash they paid for them.
The buyers have apparently fallen victim to a multimillion-rand scam. Some have lost their life savings.
The Dispatch was told hundreds of illegally imported cars had poured through the Durban and Port Elizabeth ports and sold at “reasonable prices”.
A sting operation by the police’s organised crime unit has now confiscated most of the cars. On Wednesday police began an operation to tow the vehicles to their Port Elizabeth compound for safekeeping while investigators delve into the history of each vehicle.
Police believe the syndicate is operating from Durban, King William’s Town, East London and Port Elizabeth.
The vehicles are imported from Malawi, Mozambique and Botswana and sold to unsuspecting buyers in SA.
National police spokesperson Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo said the vehicles were not allowed in South Africa as they were considered contraband.
“If it is found that those vehicles are stolen from other countries and sold here, we have relations with other countries, and we’ll return them.
“Each case will be treated on its own merits. Those people will never get those cars back. They do not belong in this country,” Naidoo said.
He said the cars will either be crushed or returned to their countries of origin once investigations are done.
On Wednesday the Dispatch visited the SAPS provincial head office in Zwelitsha and on arrival saw 20 distraught owners outside the gates. They were watching helplessly as “their” cars were loaded on to six police tow trucks.
Some cars had foreign licence plates, others plates from the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.
Brands included Nissan Micra, Honda and VW Golf 5.
It is not clear how the police were able to identify the “counterfeit” vehicles that had South African licence plates.
The Dispatch spoke with some of the buyers, who were voluble about their frustration.
Some were stopped while driving, some cars were taken at their homes while they were away and some were impounded from where they were parked in public parking bays.
Adam Sekah said his car was confiscated in King William’s Town while he was shopping.
“I thought someone had stolen it but I was told by onlookers that it was impounded by a tow company. I went there and I was told it is here in Zwelitsha,” Sekah said.
A police delegation led by Brigadier Malibongwe Ntsabo approached the angry buyers to hear their complaints.
Addressing Ntsabo, one of the buyers said: “You guys should have at least alerted us to the operation, so that we knew about it. Criminals will take advantage of this. They will stop anyone and pretend to be police, because the police who are doing this operation are not even wearing police uniforms.”
Ntsabo advised them to set up a meeting with the provincial police commissioner, Liziwe Ntshinga.
Police confirmed to the Dispatch that they were investigating the multimillion-rand scam but Captain Mali Govender would not give specifics. She said: “In line with the SAPS mandate, we currently have an inquiry under way. Further details cannot be revealed.”
Naidoo said buyers stood to lose both their money and their cars, as there was no legal relief for people whose vehicles were seized by the SA Revenue Service, the International Trade Commission or the police.
“The importation of used vehicles into South Africa is only allowed in exceptional cases, for example to immigrants with permanent residence and residents returning to South Africa,” Naidoo said.
Importing other used vehicles into South Africa is prohibited under the International Trade Administration Act, but most neighbouring countries rely on passage through South Africa for their imports, including used vehicles.
A Komga pensioner, 68-year-old Nomawabo Mtyapi, said she had spent all her life savings to buy a R120,000 car in January last year.
“My daughter saw this car advertised on social media and inquired. I then deposited half the amount into a Prince Badmus’s account, who then delivered the car as promised. I used my entire savings and the money I inherited from the passing of my daughter to purchase a VW Touran seven-seater. I spent a further R37,000 fixing the vehicle,” she said.
She was shocked last week when police pounced on her and confiscated the vehicle.
A police letter seen by the Daily Dispatch states that “the vehicle is seized and detained under the Custom and Excise Act. The detention of the goods [vehicle] is for the purpose of establishing whether such goods are liable for forfeiture in terms of the act”.
Mtyapi, who has a heart condition, said she used the vehicle to ferry her grandchildren and for her domestic chores.
“This whole problem has set me back big time.
“If I lose this vehicle, it means I’ve wasted my entire life’s savings,” she said with tears streaming down her face.
Badmus confirmed selling the vehicle to Mtyapi, but pleaded ignorance of the laws governing imported vehicles.
“I bought that car from a Congolese brother and sold it to Mama [Mtyapi].
“I helped her register it.
“Now a year later there are problems,” he said.
Asked if he would be prepared to give a statement on the authenticity of the vehicle’s papers, Badmus threatened legal action.
“My lawyers will be in contact with your newspaper,” he said...