Bodies Wrapped in plastic found in Mercedes van — Driver says they came From Cape Town funeral parlours

Nqanqarhu – Two men have been taken into police custody after officers discovered two bodies wrapped in plastic bags inside a Mercedes-Benz panel van in Nqanqarhu in the Eastern Cape.

According to the South African Police Service (SAPS), the men, aged 38 and 24, were detained on Thursday following an intelligence-driven operation that led police to the vehicle.

Police said they received information early on Thursday morning about a vehicle allegedly transporting dead bodies while travelling towards KwaBhaca. Officers launched a search and attempted to locate the vehicle, but it initially evaded detection.

Between 7:30am and 8am, the grey Mercedes-Benz panel van was found parked outside a supermarket in Nqanqarhu. Police approached the vehicle and escorted its two occupants, along with the van, to a local police station for further investigation.

At the station, the driver reportedly granted officers permission to search the vehicle. Upon opening the rear compartment, police discovered two deceased bodies wrapped in white plastic bags. The bodies showed visible bloodstains on the packaging.

The driver informed police that he and his companion were transporting corpses from funeral parlours in Cape Town to mortuaries in KwaBhaca. He further stated that a third body collected from a funeral parlour in Gqeberha had already been delivered to a funeral parlour in KwaBhaca before the vehicle was intercepted.

Subsequent enquiries confirmed that the two bodies found in the vehicle had originated from mortuaries in Cape Town.

An Environmental Health Practitioner was called to the scene and found that the men were not in possession of the required certificate of competence for transporting human remains. Both men were issued fines of R1,000 for contravening provisions of the National Health Act and Regulation R363.

Police said no formal criminal charges have been laid at this stage, although investigations are continuing.

The two recovered bodies were transported to a local mortuary in Nqanqarhu for safekeeping, while relatives have been summoned to assist with identification procedures.

The two men remain in police custody pending further investigation.