The Toyota Hilux in which members of the blue-light gang fled from the police in a high-speed chase on the N3 highway. Photo: Saps
Three members of the feared blue-light gang were killed in a fierce gun battle with Gauteng police officers on Sunday evening, 28 April.
During this dramatic end to a high-speed chase along the N3 towards Zonkizizwe, in Ekurhuleni, one of the criminals managed to make a quick getaway on foot.
According to provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Brenda Muridili, the three suspects were part of the infamous blue-light gang terrorising motorists on the N3 between Villiers and Heidelberg.
“Information was received during the evening of 28 April, about a gang which commits blue-light robberies on the N3 between Villiers and Heidelberg using a white Toyota Hilux with blue lights,” said Muridili.
“A multidisciplinary team was mobilised and they traced the suspects to the N3 highway in Grootvlei, Mpumalanga. When the suspects saw the police, they sped away, resulting in a high-speed chase towards Zonkizizwe, in Ekurhuleni.
“The suspects started shooting at the [police] team and the team retaliated during which three of the four suspects were fatally shot.”
Police seized two unlicensed firearms and ammunition, blue lights, cellphones, as well as the Toyota Hilux which has been taken to the vehicle crime investigation unit for further analysis.
According to well-known crime activist Yusuf Abramjee, the police have linked the gang to multiple attacks in the N3 area.
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In November 2023, the N3 highway between Leondale in Ekurhuleni and Helderberg were identified as a hijacking hotspot by provincial police.
Last month, a doctor travelling from Newcastle to Johannesburg was hijacked by the blue-light gang near Heidelberg on the N3.
Speaking to IOL, he said he stopped when a white Toyota double cab with blue lights pulled up behind him, just after the toll gate.
“When I stopped, a guy came up to my window in full police uniform. He asked for my driver’s licence. As soon as I opened my window to give him my licence, he forced his hand in and unlocked my car.
“Four other guys jumped into my car. They tied me up, put me in the back seat and sat on me before they drove off,” said the doctor.
He said the suspects drove for about 40 to 45 minutes before stopping in the middle of a maize field where they ordered him to lie down on the ground in the mud.
The doctor claimed that while two members of the gang kept watch over him, the others communicated with them from a nearby ATM via phone.
“They demanded my pin codes and cleaned out my accounts,” he said.
On the same day, the blue-light gang also hijacked a couple on the same stretch of highway.
The couple was stabbed and held captive alongside the doctor in the maize field until their bank accounts were also cleaned out.
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