SWIFT response by Umbumbulu police led to the arrest of three men who hijacked a taxi with passengers, and for possession of an unlicensed firearm on Thursday, 22 January.
The men, aged between 20 and 22-years-old will appear in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 26 January, where they will face charges of carjacking and possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.
“At about 5pm, a taxi driver who was transporting passengers in Lamontville, outside Umlazi was approached by the trio who pointed a firearm at him and boarded his taxi with passengers, which was headed towards Umbumbulu
In Umbumbulu, they took cash, cellphones and stripped the taxi’s sound system. They fled and boarded another taxi which was travelling towards Isipingo. Umbumbulu police who were patrolling around the area were stopped by the victims. The men’s description and the taxi that they had boarded was given to the members and they started a search.
The taxi was spotted in the area and searched. Three men fitting the description given to members were arrested. They were found in possession of goods taken during the hijacking. An unlicensed .38 revolver with three live rounds was also recovered. The recovered firearm will be sent for ballistic tests to establish if it was used in any other crimes in the country,” said Major Thulani Zwane of the KZN police media centre.
Provincial police commissioner, Lt Gen Mmamonnye Ngobeni commended the police. “I want to commend these police officers who are dedicated and committed in the fight against crime in the province. They arrested the suspects a few hours after the incident and recovered a firearm They will be profiled to establish if they are wanted in other hijacking cases around Durban,” she said.
