Car chase ends at Kombat
A 26-year-old man on Wednesday stole a vehicle at a service station in Okahandja and filled the tank without paying before driving off to Tsumeb.
14 June 2021 | Crime
ESTER KAMATI
OTJIWARONGO
A man identified as Uatjiri Mootu faces at least five criminal charges after stealing a car in Okahandja on Tuesday.
The police eventually caught up to him in Kombat after a high-speed chase on Wednesday.
The Ford Ranger double-cab 4x4 bakkie was stolen at a service station in Okahandja when the driver went into the shop, leaving the key in the ignition.
Mootu allegedly hopped in and sped off with the bakkie, which is valued at N$400 000.
He stopped at a service station in Otavi, where he filled the tank and drove off without paying.
Police officers in Tsumeb identified the stolen vehicle by its registration number and tried to stop the driver, but he sped off.
Car chase
This led to a high-speed chase from Tsumeb to Otavi, where a roadblock had been set up to stop the car.
After the stolen bakkie smashed through the roadblock, members of the Otavi police joined the chase.
Police at Kombat set up another roadblock, this time placing barriers in the road. That did not stop the speeding bakkie, but damaged the tyres and forced the thief to surrender.
When the police seized the bakkie, they found a stolen iPhone in it.
Mootu has been charged with theft, driving without a licence, possession of stolen goods, reckless driving and failing to stop at a police roadblock.
Mootu was to appear before the Otavi magistrate’s court on some of these charges on Friday before being transferred to Okahandja to be charged with the theft of the vehicle.
[email protected]
OTJIWARONGO
A man identified as Uatjiri Mootu faces at least five criminal charges after stealing a car in Okahandja on Tuesday.
The police eventually caught up to him in Kombat after a high-speed chase on Wednesday.
The Ford Ranger double-cab 4x4 bakkie was stolen at a service station in Okahandja when the driver went into the shop, leaving the key in the ignition.
Mootu allegedly hopped in and sped off with the bakkie, which is valued at N$400 000.
He stopped at a service station in Otavi, where he filled the tank and drove off without paying.
Police officers in Tsumeb identified the stolen vehicle by its registration number and tried to stop the driver, but he sped off.
Car chase
This led to a high-speed chase from Tsumeb to Otavi, where a roadblock had been set up to stop the car.
After the stolen bakkie smashed through the roadblock, members of the Otavi police joined the chase.
Police at Kombat set up another roadblock, this time placing barriers in the road. That did not stop the speeding bakkie, but damaged the tyres and forced the thief to surrender.
When the police seized the bakkie, they found a stolen iPhone in it.
Mootu has been charged with theft, driving without a licence, possession of stolen goods, reckless driving and failing to stop at a police roadblock.
Mootu was to appear before the Otavi magistrate’s court on some of these charges on Friday before being transferred to Okahandja to be charged with the theft of the vehicle.
[email protected]
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