Alli Banda (34), Bongani Ndlovu (47), and Siyabonga Dlamini (40) were arrested in Volksrust for possession of a suspected stolen vehicle, house break-in implements, and an unlicensed firearm in the early hours of February 14.
According to a statement from the office of the provincial commissioner, the men are suspected of involvement in a house robbery in which a vehicle was stolen in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, in the early hours of the said Wednesday.
The SAPS in Volksrust received information about the house robbery at about 01:30 from the SAPS in Newcastle.
The victim was shot. The suspects allegedly stole the victim’s vehicle, a white Honda Civic. The police responded and saw the vehicle with three occupants in Volksrust.
They stopped the vehicle and searched it. One of the occupants was found in possession of an unlicensed firearm, a 9mm Norinco pistol, loaded with ammunition.
Officers also found house break-in implements, including a crowbar, a grinder, a side-cutter, and four cutting discs.
The suspects were apprehended and charged accordingly. They appeared in the Volksrust Magistrate’s Court on February 15, where the case was postponed to February 19 for legal representation.
They remain in custody and will be transferred to Newcastle to face the charges of house robbery and theft of a motor vehicle.
The police cannot rule out the possibility of adding other charges as investigations continue.
Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela welcomed the arrest and appreciated the great interprovincial partnership.
“It is now a common practice that suspects should consider that if they hijack or steal a vehicle, they should not bother coming to Mpumalanga because we will arrest them for sure,” Manamela said.
“We also encourage our members, and other law enforcement agencies, to continue doing their work because the effort they put in always produces positive results.”
