Nearly a third of all cars stolen and hijacked in South Africa are smuggled across the country's borders. The multi-billion rand business is allegedly run by highly organised vehicle crime syndicates that usually specialise in the theft of luxury vehicles.

Recently released statistics show that 97 221 vehicles were hijacked or stolen in South Africa during the 2004/2005 financial year. Business against Crime (BAC) believes that 29 000 of these vehicles were moved across the borders, with Mozambique apparently providing a major "gateway" out of South Africa.

The SA Police Service says it recovered 450 vehicles in southern Africa in the first six months of this year, and last year it seized 750 vehicles during cross-border operations. Some of the stolen vehicles were dismantled at "chop shops" near the border and the parts then transported across the border in trucks.

A major problem facing the authorities in clamping down on the smuggling is the fact that South Africa's northern borders span 4 862 km. SAPS reports state that several smugglers are apprehended while driving stolen or hijacked vehicles through "horrendous terrain" in an effort to get across the border. The border with Mozambique is a "flimsy wire fence" and smugglers often simply "drive over it".