POLICE are still searching for two men, believed to be part of a gang of truck hijackers.
The two managed to escape from the cops following the arrest of eight of their accomplices, including a woman and two Nigerian nationals, on Tuesday morning on Kweper Street, Kempton Park.
The eight were tracked down by metro police officers who had received a tip-off from a resident about suspicious activity taking place at the business on Kweper Street.
The gang is alleged to have hijacked a British American Tobacco Company truck, transporting cigarettes valued at R280 000, on Quality Road in Isando at about 8am. The stolen goods inside the truck were loaded into their own vehicle, a white Toyota Quantum, and delivered to the guest house on Kweper Street, allegedly owned by a Nigerian national. The hijacked truck was abandoned.
The metro police, Kempton Park SAPS, Kempton CPF and other private security companies were on the scene.
According to Kempton SAPS spokesman, Capt Jethro Mtshali, the metro police pounced on the suspects at about 10am, who by this time had already off-loaded the stolen cigarettes.
“Boxes and boxes of cigarettes were found inside the guest house. The suspects’ vehicle was parked inside the yard, empty. Two firearms were also recovered in the suspects’ possession.
“A case of hijacking, possession of stolen goods as well as possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition are being investigated by the police,” Mtshali confirmed.
Two of the arrested suspects attempted to flee from the metro by jumping over the wall into the house next door. They were spotted by the gardener who alerted the police. The two were captured and taken to join their accomplices.
Photographs of the crime scene
Two others, who are still on the run and thought to be involved in the syndicate, managed to avoid arrest by hiding. The men hid in the gardens of other homes on the street when the metro police apprehended the eight suspects.
The first man emerged from the yard of the house next door at 11.17am and just minutes later, the second one made a run for it at 11.53am.
Metro officials and police members gave chase on foot and others sped off in their cars to search for the runaways.
Just after noon a person was found who matched the description given by the gardener of one of the escapees. But the man, who was wearing a red and white striped T-shirt, was soon let go after it was established he was not involved in the crime.
The case has been handed over to the provincial investigations unit.
