Alex police spokesperson Warrant Officer Moses Maphakela said the man (33) was fired while stationed at Garankuwa Police Station. His co-accused are 34 and 35 years of age.
Maphakela said the men were part of a gang that had hijacked a truck carrying cell phones from Kempton Park headed towards Midrand. They were spotted by Sandton Police on the N3 highway driving a blue VW Golf 7 which had a blue light on the dash board. A police check of the car revealed that it wasn’t one of their fleet cars and had been reported stolen from Kensington early this month. When the police tried to stop them, one of the men pointed a gun at the police before they speed off and exited into Alexandra at the Vincent Tshabalala road off-ramp with police in hot pursuit.
In the process the police also radioed for back up resulting in the men being arrested when the car was damaged after hitting a speed bump in Eastbank as they headed towards Alexandra on Florence Maphosho Avenue next to the Jukskei River.
Maphakela also said two of the men were in police uniform and all three were flushed out from one of the houses they had escaped into, this with the public’s assistance. The third man was in civilian clothing. Mapakhela added that the hijackers also had two crew men of the hijacked truck with them who were not harmed. In the hijacked car, the police recovered the blue light which was on the dashboard and one blue light used for the roof, police reflector jackets, two 9 mm rifles and one revolver. Maphakela said police were still tracking the hi-jacked truck and thanked the public for assisting in apprehending the three men.
They will appear at the Alex Magistate Court facing charges of kidnapping, possession of illegal firearms and ammunition, possession of stolen car and impersonating police officers.
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