Latest news with #MercedesC200
Eyewitness News
4 days ago
- Business
- Eyewitness News
SIU freezes more than R20m worth of assets linked to irregular Transnet contracts
JOHANNESBURG - The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has frozen more than R20 million worth of assets linked to irregular Transnet contracts. This included luxury vehicles and high-value properties. The preservation order by the SIU and Transnet is part of an ongoing investigation into three allegedly irregular contracts for property valuation services with the port and rail company. Transnet had referred various suspicious contracts involving Transnet property to the SIU for further investigation. The contracts, awarded in 2019, 2021 and 2022, have a combined value of R89 million. Working closely with Transnet, the SIU's investigation revealed serious flaws in the procurement processes, raising concerns about compliance with supply chain management regulations and the possibility of undue influence in the awarding of these contracts. The SIU and Transnet believe that Transnet may not have received full and fair value for the payments made under the disputed contracts. Restrained items include a Porsche 718 Boxster, a Porsche Macan S, a Mercedes C200, a VW Amarok, properties in Bryanston, Fourways, Broadacres and four office units in Vanderbijlpark. The order interdicts MM Real Estate (PTY) LTD, Humphrey Tshepo Moyo, Neo Shawn Matlala and any other party from selling, disposing, leasing, transferring, encumbering (including by granting rights of retention), transferring, donating, or dealing in any manner whatsoever to the frozen properties, pending the finalisation of civil proceedings.
The National
5 days ago
- Automotive
- The National
Woman in UAE buys 'clocked' Mercedes with 145,000km dialled back
A woman who was sold an imported car with a tampered mileage clock has warned other used car buyers to complete a full history check before purchasing a second-hand vehicle. In March 2023 Emilia Cosbuc, a personal trainer from Romania, bought her dream car, a Mercedes C200, from a dealership in Sharjah. The 2016 model vehicle had 92,000km on the clock and was offered with a one-year warranty. After a smooth test drive, Ms Cosbuc handed over Dh90,000 for the luxury saloon. There was no indication of any serious mechanical faults until January 2025, when she started to experience engine problems, thinking the car had 150,327km on the clock at this point. When a mechanic assessed the vehicle, the full reality of the car's chequered history became clear. Records showed that it had been involved in several accidents, and a major collision in August 2022. Further online records showed the car was imported from South Africa and sold on at auction in the UAE for $1,700 in November 2022. Then it had 236,748km on its odometer; but four months later, when the car was sold to Ms Cosbuc, the clock showed nearly 145,000km fewer than that. Rather than the car having travelled 150,327km when it began to have engine problems, as Ms Cosbuc thought, it had actually done 295,027km - a significant and dangerous difference, as 250,000km is generally considered to be the point at which a vehicle has gone through significant wear and tear. 'Initially the car looked great, the test drive was smooth, and the seller gave me a one-year warranty contract - I trusted them and happily bought the car,' Ms Cosbuc, who lives in Abu Dhabi, told The National. 'When my car engine needed a major repair, the garage discovered its real history. I spoke to the auction house, which verified the car was sold to an individual in November 2022. "The photos of the car's odometer show 236,748km, which means it had been tampered with by the time I bought it. Selling a vehicle with an altered odometer reading and a concealed accident history puts unsuspecting buyers at serious financial and safety risks.' Victims of fraud have the right to seek compensation for damages, which can cover financial losses and emotional distress. Ms Cosbuc is facing a repair bill of Dh30,000 to get the car back on the road. As the vehicle is considerably more used than she believed, she asked for compensation from the dealership that sold the vehicle and lodged a complaint with the Ministry of Economy. The company said it was an honest mistake, and admitted they should have completed a more thorough check of the car's history. It has since changed its policy to ensure all cars purchased to be sold on are fully researched, and paid Ms Cosbuc Dh40,000 in compensation. Fines Car-sale fraud is a criminal offence in the UAE, with legal penalties including imprisonment and fines governed by the UAE's Consumer Protection Law and Commercial Transactions Law. Odometer tampering is the practice of rolling back a car's odometer to make it appear to have a lower mileage, to artificially inflate its value. There is huge demand for used cars across the UAE, with each emirate operating its own safety checks and records for imported vehicles. According to Credence Research, the UAE's used car market was worth $20.15 billion in 2022, and is expected to climb to $48.14 billion by 2030. Several e-commerce sites used to advertise second-hand vehicles for sale are improving their transparency when it comes to a car's history. Despite that, experts say buyers should conduct their own checks on any used vehicle before handing over their cash. 'This market can be a bit of a minefield, so buyers need to be careful,' said Ryan Hughes, co-owner of RMA Motors in Dubai. 'If the car is from the GCC it's usually a bit easier to track its history, if it's imported it can be more difficult. "There are a lot of imported cars that are crash repaired from America, Europe and Canada, and also stolen cars from Canada. A lot of these cars have mileage manipulation, with clocked cars usually coming from North America and Europe.' Pre-purchase safety checks As the traffic departments in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah are not connected, it can be difficult to maintain consistency in export papers to show any discrepancies in a vehicle's mileage. To check for any mileage manipulation, buyers can check a car's control unit with a mechanic to ensure its chassis number matches what is printed on the car. That can help ensure the mileage matches up with what is on each control unit on the odometer. 'On some cars you can access what is called a service reset counter to make sure that the amount of service resets match the kilometres recorded,' said Mr Hughes. 'On a Mercedes you can see if the service intervals have been once a year or every 15,000km. If it was a three or four-year-old car, you could see it would have had three or four service resets in that time, so you could make an estimate of what the kilometres should be. "But if a car had 25 service resets, for example, you would know it should have 250,000km or more. It's really about just doing your due diligence from the paperwork you have on the vehicle's history, as well as a standard inspection and technical evaluation.'
Hindustan Times
30-05-2025
- Hindustan Times
Noida: Man smuggles drugs in Mercedes, arrested
Noida A 21-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly smuggling marijuana in a Delhi-registered Mercedes C 200, police said on Thursday, adding that he has been booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act at Sector 126 police station. Police said the suspect, Hrisikesh Damodar from Kerala was putting up at a friend's flat in Noida's Sector 134 high-rise for last few days. 'On Wednesday afternoon during a checking near Sector 134, when a Mercedes was flagged down, the driver accelerated and rammed it into a divider while trying to escape. But he was stopped,' said Sector 126 SHO Bhupendra Singh. 'Three packets of marijuana of around 6.8 kgs were seized from his possession. A premium quality marijuana, around 500 gm worth around ₹3 lakh, was also found in the vehicle,' the SHO added. A police officer, part of the investigation requesting anonymity, said, 'Damodar came to Noida around four days back and stayed at one of his friends' homes. He bought a second-hand C 200 and was informed by one of his friends that he could buy marijuana online and sell it to another person. He indulged in the illegal activity to get commission.' 'On Wednesday he was going to deliver in Delhi from Noida,' said SHO Singh, adding a case under sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act was registered against Damodar and further investigation is underway.
Daily Mail
22-04-2025
- Daily Mail
Graphic new details emerge about socialite's desperate attempt to save former Deal or No Deal host Andrew O'Keefe's life after heroin overdose
A Sydney socialite cleaned vomit from disgraced former TV star Andrew O'Keefe's nose and mouth after he almost chocked to death during a heroin overdose, court documents have revealed. Elisha Dalah performed CPR to save the former Deal or No Deal host after earlier feeding him the heroin which led to the life-threatening overdose at O'Keefe's Vaucluse home in Sydney's eastern suburbs on September 14 last year. Dalah, famous for the being the daughter of ex-Elizabeth Bay Marina co-owner Michael Dalah, fronted Downing Centre Local Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to supplying heroin. The 38-year-old gave O'Keefe Narcan, a drug which counteracts the effects of heroin, and performed CPR before the fallen former Channel Seven star was rushed to St Vincent's Hospital. The court heard O'Keefe, 53, was released from hospital after being told he was 'lucky to be alive'. Dalah, whose Fishbowl founder brother Nathan is married to Victoria Secret model Georgia Fowler, admitted to police that she and O'Keefe had consumed cocaine and heroin earlier that day, according to the court documents. The pair also organised to buy heroin after being harassed by paparazzi. 'This is my fault,' Dalah told police. Magistrate Rosheehan O'Meagher said the court needed to send a message to the community regarding the 'seriousness of the offence'. 'The maximum penalty for this offence in the district court is 15 years in prison, in the local court it is capped at two years,' she said. 'That shows you how serious an offence this is and it is treated as so because of the serious consequences of drug supply in terms of serious health implications, which I am sure you are aware of.' Dalah was convicted after spending almost five months in custody while awaiting sentencing. The court heard Dalah has been undertaking a rehabilitation program which she continues to attend 'for as long as possible'. 'You've learnt some things, but looking at your record, we need you to get the message that if you keep offending you will end up in jail, and I don't think that's a life you want for yourself,' Magistrate O'Meagher said. In 2023, Dalah was handed a 20-month intensive correction order and 200 hours of community service after pleading guilty to thieving luxury face creams and designer clothing from a Westfield shopping centre in July 2022. Dalah was also fined $500 for entering Westfield Bondi Junction while banned. O'Keefe has waged a public battle against drug addiction and been in and out of rehabilitation centres for the past few years. O'Keefe faced Waverley Local Court in February to plead guilty to driving with meth in his system but escaped with a $440 fine. The former game show host tested positive to meth while driving his Mercedes C200 in Sydney's eastern suburbs on July 28 last year. He was pulled over for random testing on Cranbrook Road in Rose Bay about 11.30am that day and recorded a positive result but was not charged until late November. The court heard O'Keefe had been the subject of a conditional release order for a previous drug-driving offence when he tested positive again. O'Keefe was convicted and fined $440 for drug-driving and disqualified from getting behind the wheel for six months. Shortly before O'Keefe was pulled over on July 28, he had confronted a man at a Point Piper property he was banned from attending. Following inquiries, O'Keefe was charged with contravening an apprehended violence order and stalk/intimidate with intent to cause for fear. He was released on bail after appearing in Waverley Local Court but was arrested again at Rose Bay police station in September when police found meth in his car during a search. O'Keefe was thrown in the back of the divvy van while TV cameras were on hand then acted like a rabid dog. O'Keefe pleaded guilty in October to trespassing, breaching an an apprehended violence order and meth possession. He was fined $1500 and handed a 30-month community corrections order which required him to attend rehab. At the same time, he was fined $2,000 for driving with an illicit drug in his system at Darlinghurst in April and disqualified from getting behind the wheel for three months. O'Keefe was found guilty in January last year of domestic violence and drug offences after a 'degrading' attack on a woman who cannot be identified. The drug conviction was later quashed but O'Keefe lost an appeal against the assault convictions in August. In December 2023 he escaped conviction after pleading guilty in Downing Centre Local Court to driving through Point Piper with drugs in his system earlier that year. O'Keefe had been pulled over while in charge of his Mercedes C200 sedan in January and returned a positive test to meth and was handed a 12-month community release order.
