Angella Johnson
Interpol has joined in the hunt for a British man who drove off with two customised Land-Rovers stored at a BMW showroom in Johannesburg.
South African police would like to interview 23- year-old Danny Lydon, who was captured on video stealing the Camel Adventure vehicles a day before skipping the country.
Lydon, who was employed as a service manager for BMW in Westgate, took a flight to Singapore. It had been booked a week earlier.
He had only been with the company for a couple of months when police believe he put into operation a carefully engineered plan to spirit away and sell the Land-Rovers.
Arriving at the showroom after closing time on a Saturday afternoon, Lydon told the security guard he needed to take the two four-wheel-drive vehicles (worth about R500 000) to a presentation show.
The company’s video surveillance cameras showed him brazenly driving away with one, and returning about 20 minutes later to collect the other.
According to Captain Jan Combrink, Lydon is believed to have targeted BMW for a sophisticated scam. “We think he may have done this kind of thing before. He applied for the job while staying with relatives and the company even helped him get his work permit. Then once he had established a degree of trust, he set the scheme in operation.”
Mark Johnson, used-car sales manager at BMW, said Lydon was hired because of his knowledge of Land- Rovers and BMWs: “We could not find anyone with that kind of experience in South Africa, and he came with a strong recommendation from an associate.”
Johnson said the thefts might not have been discovered for some time had Lydon not smashed a company car he had been driving the previous Friday evening, sparking an investigation into his whereabouts.
“The Land-Rovers are usually kept locked up with other vehicles unless required for promos. It was only when we asked security if they had seen him that we heard what he had done.”
Lydon’s job as service adviser entailed liaising between customers and mechanics when vehicles were brought in for servicing. “He was trusted and therefore had access to all the motorvehicles on our premises,” said Johnson.
Soon after his disappearance, someone tried to register one of the stolen Land-Rovers with fake documents in Bryanston. The police were called when a sharp-eyed clerk spotted discrepancies in the information. The officers confiscated the papers, but decided not to take the vehicle.
“The man made out he was an innocent party and the police were persuaded to allow him to deliver the vehicle the following day,” explained the investigating officer. It was later discovered that the man had given a false name and address.
Although police believe one of the Land-Rovers may have already left the country, Johnson is convinced both are still here. “Maybe they have painted over the distinctive yellow, but these are very special cars. They won’t be able to get very far without being noticed.”