An normal day at the Road Traffic Inspectorate offices quickly escalated to a alarming situation on February 18.
Arriving at the office at 5.45am on February 18, Senior Provincial Inspector, Raymond Oosthuizen, and a colleague entered through the back door of the building to find papers strewn across the floor.
“There was food and papers lying everywhere,” claimed Mr Oosthuizen. “We weren’t sure what caused the chaos.”
Mr Oosthuizen went upstairs to clock in, where he again noticed platefuls of food and assumed the staff must have left it there.
“At about 6.15am, the cleaners arrived and I heard them shout, We’ve been robbed! The window is broken!”
Springing into action, Mr Oosthuizen was making his way downstairs when a woman cried, ‘There he is!’
The suspect flew out from underneath the stairs, and managed to make it out the door and onto the grounds.
“He fled towards ArcelorMittal. Two RTI officers and two security guards were in pursuit, but he was too far ahead of them – they didn’t stand a chance!” exclaimed Mr Oosthuizen.
Mr Oosthuizen knew he needed to act quickly if the suspect was to be apprehended.
“I gave chase in a state vehicle and stopped the car in front of the suspect,” alleged Mr Oosthuizen. “I exited the vehicle and forced him to the ground.”
Two of Mr Oosthuizen’s colleagues, Mr Madondo and Mr Mngomezulu, caught up to him and handcuffed the suspect.
“Mr Mdondo took over and escorted the suspect to the station where we waited for police to arrive,” explained Mr Oosthuizen.
The suspect was arrested while the fingerprint team worked tirelessly to recover prints.
According to an official source, the incident was the third burglary at the RTI offices in just two years.
The suspect was found in possession of licenses. However, the origin thereof, is yet to be disclosed.
Mr Oosthuizen came to the conclusion that regardless of the circumstances, the culprit would have found a way onto the property if he really wanted to. “What if I was on my own? He could have attacked me. Police need to investigate how the man entered our offices while security was right there,” concluded Mr Oosthuizen.
Newcastle SAPS was contacted for a media statement regarding the burglary and resolved to issue a press release by next week.
