UPDATE: EMPD officer arrested in connection with vehicle hijacking
Police have arrested an EMPD officer in connection with the hijacking of a courier vehicle in Delmas on Friday morning.
Benoni SAPS acting cluster commander, Brig Poobalan Subbiah, said the Benoni cluster priority task team arrested an active EMPD officer in Lindelani informal settlement yesterday afternoon.
Two constables of the Crystal Park Police Station were wounded in a shoot-out with a group of gunmen, on the corner of High and Thomas roads.
They were following the courier truck in Benoni, which had been hijacked earlier near Delmas.
Read more here.
The EMPD officer was apprehended at a sangoma.
The acting cluster commander said the officer’s role in the incident could not be revealed as it could compromise the investigation.
He was found in possession of an unlicensed .9mm firearm and ammunition.
It has also emerged that one of the six suspects arrested, is a former police officer, who was station at a Johannesburg police station before being dismissed.
“He is currently out on bail in a R11-m heist of a cigarette truck,” said Subbiah.
Meanwhile, both officers who were shot are recovering well in hospital.
One of the officers was shot in the leg and another in the shoulder.
The suspects are facing charges of attempted murder and unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition.
The City times could not reach EMPD spokesperson Wilfred Kgasago for comment.
Gauteng police spokesperson Lieut Col Lungelo Dlamini has not yet provided the City Times with comment on the arrest of the EMPD officer or the former SAPS member.
He was approached for comment yesterday evening.
