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Two Arrested After Hijacked Health Vehicle and Buckets of Suspected Human Organs Found in Soweto

A forensic interagency probe has been opened to trace the organs’ origin, check links to medical facilities or criminal networks, and locate the property owner.

Overview

  • Police from the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department followed a tip-off to a house in Naledi, Soweto, where officers entered the property and found a white Volkswagen Caddy in the garage being stripped.
  • Checks by officers showed the Volkswagen Caddy was registered to the National Department of Health and had been flagged as a hijacked vehicle.
  • During a widened search of the yard officers discovered two buckets that were reported to contain human organs described as hearts and lungs, though laboratory verification has not yet been released.
  • Two men were arrested at the scene, processed at Naledi SAPS and charged with possession of a hijacked vehicle and possession of human organs; both remain in police custody as the case proceeds.
  • JMPD and SAPS are carrying out forensic pathology, chain-of-custody and interagency inquiries to establish where the organs came from, whether any medical facility is involved, and what public-health or organised-crime risks may follow.