Police a rescue victim from fake cops in Tsakani
Captain Nelda Sekgobela said all suspects fled the scene by foot during the shootout with police leaving the hijacked victim inside their fully branded Polo.
Tsakani – The police rescued a 43-year-old hijacking victim on Monday night.
The man was hijacked by three fake police officers who drove a branded Gauteng Traffic Police Polo, wore full traffic police uniforms, had masks and carried handguns.
Two members from the Tsakane SAPS, in a sector vehicle, patrolled the area.
While passing an open field between Tsakane Ext 22 and the BP filling station, they saw the lights of two stationary vehicles. As they approached them, the suspects fired at the officers.
SAPS spokesperson Captain Neldah Sekgbela said the officers returned fire and called for backup. As they moved closer to the vehicles, they found the white Iveco (delivery vehicle) which still had keys in the ignition.
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“It was half-loaded with Skynet Courier consignments, mostly from Avon. Most of the load was already offloaded and put on the ground, with some boxes partly ripped open.
“The second car found at the scene, a white VW Polo sedan branded with the Gauteng Traffic Police Saturation Unit also had keys in the ignition.
“Inside the Polo, there was a male (43), allegedly the hijacked victim, who told police he was pulled off the road and hijacked on the N3 about 5km from the Total filling station, driving towards Heidelberg and not far from Vosloorus,” she explained.
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The victim said the three suspects arrested him for driving erratically, and he was put in the back seat of the Polo.
“The third suspect continued to drive the Iveco until they got to the Tsakane open field”.
All suspects fled the scene on foot during the shootout and police left the hijacked victim inside the Polo.
“Police members were not wounded during the shootout.
“Two pants, a brown shirt for the Gauteng Traffic Police, a reflector jacket and a cellphone were found inside the Polo,” added Sekgobela.
