COMMUNITY members who have seen or dealt with suspicious or bogus roadblocks are asked to come forward and share their stories with Kobus Meyer, a former policeman and private investigator, so that the matter can be addressed properly.
Meyer shared a story about a truck escort who died last year in a bogus roadblock.
“On December 21 of last year, Thomas Kleinschmidt was on duty as an armed escort, en route on the R59 highway,” Meyer said. “At the Swartkoppies off-ramp, the truck he was escorting was stopped by approximately eight ‘police officers’ who were dressed in full uniform, armed with weapons and had marked police vehicles.
“The truck driver was instructed to get out of the vehicle, as the ‘police’ wanted to inspect the licence disc of the truck.
“Thomas kept his distance, but eventually moved closer when he realised it was a fake roadblock. He was confronted by two ‘policemen’ who asked him why he had stopped, as they only wanted the truck to stop,” he explained.
It was further reported that after Thomas explained that he was an armed escort for the vehicle, he was asked to produce his permits and licence. He was then asked to step out and move to the back of his vehicle. No force or violence was used.
“Then, according to a witness, a single shot was heard. The witnesses were forced into Thomas’s vehicle and told to lie still. The truck driver was forced into a police vehicle and dropped off in an open veld.
“According to our own investigation, it was established that Thomas’s vehicle was moved off the highway and parked with the two witnesses inside. The truck was moved to the next off-ramp at Kliprivier Road, Brackendowns, and abandoned,” he said.
All Thomas’s personal goods and a rifle were left inside his vehicle. The cargo on the truck was not touched and was left locked up in the truck. Upon further investigation, Thomas’s body was found dragged from where he was shot to a hidden bush under a tree. No cartridge was found within a radius of 100m of the crime scene.
“With further investigation, a witness was traced, who confirmed that he passed the same ‘roadblock’ a minute before the above incident. This witness also confirmed that these ‘police’ were in full uniform with bulletproof vests marked with ‘POLICE’ in white.
“From my professional experience, it is clear that this was a planned crime that went wrong when Thomas was shot and killed. It’s clear that the crime scene was cleaned up by moving Thomas’s body to a secluded spot, picking up the cartridge and moving the vehicles away and abandoning them (without taking any bait). Only a pistol and cellphones were taken.”
Brackendowns SAPS spokesperson Sergeant Lindi Moloi confirmed that the case is under investigation.
“In respect of the above, we trust that the police have done all in their power to solve this case, but have reached a dead end. We are now relying on other similar incidents and the media to expose this syndicate through similar modus operandi and, hopefully, valuable information or witnesses will come forward and assist,” concluded Meyer.
Anyone with information or who might have experienced a similar incident on the R59 highway or surrounds can contact Meyer on 083 789 9990 or email kobusmeyer@pandcservices.co.za
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