GRASKOP – A mini-war broke out in a plantation here on Wednesday night in what seems to have been an ambush of security manger of a forestry company. At least one alleged timber thief was shot and killed in the incident.
“It was like a war zone!” the man, who asked to remain anonymous, told Lowvelder. “I don’t know how many shots were fired, but it was more than 30 or even 40.” He said he received a phone call at about 19:00 from a Graskop police officer who said he would keep an eye on the timber theft situation.
Shortly thereafter he received a tip-off that several vehicles had entered one of the plantations and after phoning for backup he went to the scence accompanied by two colleagues. They switched off their lights and came across a truck with freshly cut timber poles on it. He then switched on his lights and a spotlight and all hell broke loose. The next moment a few men jumped into a Nissan bakkie and sped away.”
He followed and and called again for backup. “We had not gone far when the bakkie stopped and the men on the back jumped off and ran towards us.” About 11 men charged his vehicle, wielding pangas. I immediately reversed and tried to get away.”
At least four suspects who were still inside the Nissan started shooting at them.
By then back-up from the security company arrived but the gunmen opened fire on them.
“We could not come close to them,” he said. They had to back off in order not to be killed. The Nissan with its occupants dissappeared into the plantation. Upon returning to the point where they initially saw the truck, they found it stuck.
“The driver was nowhere to be seen.” Upon investigating they saw that the vehicle’s number plates did not match the licence disk. It was in fact registered to a different car belonging to someone else.
Then out of nowhere, a white Toyota bakkie came racing towards them and simply opened fire. “We managed to race away but I honestly thought I was going to die.”
The same Toyota was also spotted during a theft in their plantation a few nights prior to the incident.
The biggest surprise, according to him was, “A small bakkie from Graskop SAPS was behind the Toyota shooting at us.”
By this time the security company managed to track down the Nissan bakkie from which shots were still being fired,” said Mr Pieter Knipschild, chairman of the Lowveld Timber Theft Forum. They returned fire and one person was killed.
“Unfortunately the rest managed to get away,” Knipschild said.
On Thursday morning a case of murder was opened by the same policeman who made the initial phone call to the forestry manager.
It was unclear which person had been killed or where he had been found. Four other suspects were wounded and traced to a local hospital. Charges of theft and two cases of attempted murder will be laid by the forestry and security companies.
Gen Thulani Ntobela who recently said the police would become more involved in the fight against timber theft, told Lowvelder yesterday that he would appoint a task team to get to the bottom of the incident.
This will also include investigating claims made against the Graskop police.
