JOHANNESBURG - Nelson Simiao Massango was one of more than 1,500 prisoners who escaped from a maximum security prison in Maputo last year, during post-election unrest.
Reports say he was convicted of murder in 2015 and sentenced to 20 years behind bars.
Massango was arrested at a car hire dealership in Sandton.
He is being investigated for several cases of car theft in Gauteng.
It's alleged that he rented 4-by-4 bakkies and smuggled them into Mozambique to have them sold.