Carte Blanche uncovers luxury bike theft and smuggling ring in Gauteng
Targeted bikes range between R25,000 and R180,000, and even R260,000 in one case.
Photo: Unsplash/Andrew Pons
Pippa Hudson speaks to Carte Blanche producer, Nicky Troll.
Listen below.
Carte Blanche on Sunday (23 June) aired an episode about a criminal network targeting high-end motorbikes in Gauteng.
Investigations revealed that at least 28 motorbikes were reported stolen in the past six months.
The motorbikes are stolen and then sold on the black market in Mozambique.
“Our contacts in the private security industry came to us with this trend… it is very possible that there is more than the 28 we reported on, which works out to at least one a week.”
– Nicky Troll, producer – Carte Blanche
Through CCTV footage, private security was able to link several cases together by identifying common vehicles and scouts.
The price tag of these targeted bikes range between R25,000 and R180,000, and even R260,000 in one particular case.
The Carte Blanche team accompanied several units on interception missions, hoping to catch these criminals in the act.
“We know this [crime] is not opportunistic because we have personally spoken to 20 of the case studies who say the bikes are not visible from the road. It’s not that someone just walked pass and said ‘hey, there’s a bike, let’s come back tonight’.”
– Nicky Troll, producer – Carte Blanche
“These [stolen] bikes make their way to Mozambique… the bikes are actually taken apart, wrapped up in black bags and loaded onto those trailers that we often see on the road."
– Nicky Troll, producer – Carte Blanche
"[Trailers] are stacked with groceries and appliances that go over the border to families on the other side, the bike parts are hidden in the middle.”
– Nicky Troll, producer – Carte Blanche
Watch a preview of the feature below:
Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the discussion.