Four EMPD Specialised Division units arrested three suspects and recovered a hijacked truck with loot worth almost R100 000 on August 18 and 19 in Thembisa and Etwatwa.
“The EMPD squad arrested two men and a woman between the ages of 26 and 40 after gathering evidence and going through CCTV footage of a robbed business premises and adjacent buildings,” said EMPD spokesperson Kobeli Mokheseng.
“It is believed that in Phomolong section, six armed male suspects stormed into one of the well-known bottle stores just after opening and took R15 000 cash and a cellphone from a male victim.
“A white Nissan Impendulo taxi was spotted driving off from the crime scene, with suspects on board. Intelligence was gathered by our officers in possession of an identikit of the alleged taxi driver. A male suspect found hiding in a friend’s house, in Ivory Park, was apprehended before he took officers to a second address in Esangweni section. This is where the two accomplices were picked up.
“The taxi found in Ivory Park used in commission of a crime was impounded at Van Ryn Deep Pound. R6 700 cash found on one of the suspects and a cellphone were confiscated. The trio were taken to Thembisa Police Station, where charges of armed robbery and possession of suspected stolen items were registered against them.”
On August 19, in Etwata, on the R25 road, Mokheseng said EMPD Equestrian Unit officers busy with a crime prevention operation came across an abandoned white Toyota Hino truck, parked on the side of the road.
“Officers learnt it was transporting liquor valued at almost R100 000 and was hijacked in Emaphupheni section, Etwatwa. The tracker was, however, activated, so the robbers left the truck on the side of the road. The driver and a crew member were also found tied up in the loading compartment. It is not clear at this stage if some of the cargo was stolen.”
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