Three hijackers nabbed in Mount Edgecombe
A firearm was also recovered after a four-hour stakeout paid dividends.
THREE hijackers were arrested and a firearm was recovered in a joint operation between members of Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA), Tracker, SAPS Phoenix Trio Crimes and the SAPS Provincial Task Team after a four-hour stakeout on Tuesday afternoon.
The suspects were nabbed after the stakeout in the parking lot of the Mount Edgecombe Plaza, opposite the Whitehouse Shopping Centre.
According to Prem Balram, spokesman for RUSA, members from the unit received information regarding a hijacking that occurred in New Germany, Pinetown.
“Four suspects in a white Ford Bantam hijacked a Ford Ranger bakkie. The driver was taken with the hijacked vehicle before being dropped off in Ntuzuma. The suspects then drove to Mount Edgecombe, where they abandoned the hijacked vehicle in the parking lot of the shopping centre.
“The bakkie was fitted with a tracking device from Tracker, and shortly after the hijacking the tracking device was activated. A stakeout was put into operation and we waited for the suspects to return to the vehicle. RUSA members and police officers in civilian clothing staked out the parking lot for four hours before the suspects returned in a white Toyota Corolla,” he said.
When the suspects opened the driver’s door of the hijacked vehicle, police closed in.
“All four suspects attempted to flee and one of them attempted to get rid of a 9mm pistol by throwing it into a garden. Officers managed to arrest three of the suspects while one of their accomplices fled the scene,” he said.
Related Articles
Businessman’s lawsuit ridiculous, say Mount Edgecombe residents
R3.2-million in counterfeit cash seized in Mt Edgecombe
