Town terrorised by imposter police
Criminals are always finding new creative ways to carry out their dirty deeds.
The latest trend includes pretending to be police officers and security guards.
On Monday, two police officers were robbed of their state-issued firearms at the Sasol garage on Cowen Ntuli- and Walter Sisulu Street.
The incident happened at about 01:00 when the officers were innocently going to buy some items at the convenience store.
The robbers, pretending to be security guards, opened the store door politely for the men in blue.
Once the officers were inside, the criminals stole their pistols and an R5 rifle from their state vehicle.
The thieves also stole cash from the store’s cash register.
They fled the scene in a white VW Polo, which was allegedly spotted in eMalahleni an hour later during an ATM bombing.
• On June 19, a family in Eastdene was robbed by three men, two were dressed in full police uniforms.
The men entered the house, tied up the owner with cable ties and stole cash, jewellery, and a cellphone.
They escaped in a black Jeep Cherokee, which appeared to be a 2017 model. The suspects are still on the loose.
• Later that day in Ermelo, a fake police officer in a white BMW filled his car with petrol and left without paying.
• A resident told the Middelburg Observer that both he and his daughter were requested to stop on two different occasions by marked police vehicles with blue lights on the N4.
Both the man and his daughter refused to stop and found it suspicious that the vehicle ended its pursuit once they turned off the highway.
On a different occasion, the daughter was allegedly followed to the Hendrina off-ramp by a marked traffic vehicle, where she felt safe to pull over. The officers failed to give a reason for the pursuit and she was let go.
The man explained that they were too fearful to stop due to the ongoing terrorism of motorists by the ‘Blue Light Gang’.
• In 2020, two men were arrested for allegedly impersonating police officers on the N12.
Read more in the Friday edition of the Middelburg Observer.
Also read:
