None of the suspects were arrested and no shots were fired in the incident, which occurred on Thursday (May 5).
The accident, between the suspected getaway vehicle (Audi) and a white bakkie, took place on the intersection of Wilstead Street and Prince’s Avenue, in the CBD.
At around 9am, the Benoni SAPS Flying Squad received information on the hijacking of a British American Tobacco (Bat) vehicle.
The incident occurred near a petrol station off Main Reef Road, in Springs, and the driver was taken with the truck.
According to Lieut Nomsa Sekele, Benoni SAPS spokesperson, the hijackers stopped at an open field near Kingsway, where they transferred the load of cigarettes to a Quantum taxi.
The Bat vehicle, a VW Caddy, was later found with two cartons of cigarettes in it.
“When the Flying Squad members heard that the suspects were driving down Snake Road, they rushed over and chased after them,” said Sekele.
Const Jaco Powell (SAPS Flying Squad member) and Reinhardt Rautenbach (Bat investigator) were in the car pursuing the Audi, but they lost it during the chase.
Shortly afterwards, they were told the vehicle had collided with a bakkie in the CBD.
When Powell and Rautenbach arrived on the scene, the suspects were gone and three firearms were subsequently found in and around the car.
“We found a revolver, a pistol and a rifle,” Sekele added.
The Quantum taxi carrying the cigarettes and the suspects were gone.
Sekele added that the Audi had been hijacked in Bekkersdal, in March.
She said the SAPS and EMPD worked together in tracking down and chasing the suspects.
Capt Johannes Ramphora, Springs police spokesperson, was unaware of the hijacking at the time of publication.
Also read:
- Five wanted for armed robbery
- WATCH: Shootout at Mall of Africa
- Man found dead after hanging by tracksuit in police cell
