Charges against a scrapyard owner and three of his employees were withdrawn in the Louis Trichardt Magistrate's court a fortnight ago. The four were accused of being in possession of seven stolen BMW vehicles and engines with a value estimated to be over a million rands. Their case was apparently withdrawn due to a lack of evidence.

Scrapyard owner Jonas Malada, Waspa Madzhiri (21), Takalani Tshamano (23) and Fulufhelo Malada (28), were arrested in March this year. During the raid, police said the vehicles had been reported stolen in Sandton, Pinetown, Meadowlands, Cape Town Central, Durban Central, as well as Mamelodi East. Police also reported that more than 50 BMW engines were found on Malada’s premises, along with other stripped car parts.

The police also said BMW vehicle doors which were reported stolen in Florida, Themba and Kroonstad were recovered on the premises. Police arrested his three employees when the business owner (Malada) was out of town. Malada heard the news on the radio that his scrapyard had been raided and shut down. “I drove back home, where I handed myself to the Makhado SAPS, because I’m the owner of that business," he told the Limpopo Mirror's reporter.

"The three were granted bail of R2 000 each during their first appearance and I was given free bail. The court withdrew the case and said there is no evidence that we were using stolen goods. I don’t have a car from Cape Town or Durban. What I do is to buy the smashed BMWs from people and SMD. Now my legal team is busy filing a lawsuit against the police for defamation of character," said Malada.

Limpopo police spokesperson Brigadier Hlangwani said the matter had been provisionally withdrawn, pending further police investigations. “We mean business and let no one be fooled. We are still very busy with the case and once everything has been collected and verified by our investigators, the prosecution team will definitely reinstate the case. We will not be rushed; we want to make sure we build a strong case,” said Mulaudzi.