HAZYVIEW – A local security company issued a statement this morning in which it contradicted claims by the SAPS that it was in fact police officials who had captured the men suspected of having raped two women at Tatenda Guest House two weeks ago.
The statement was issued by Mr Les Hibbert, managing director of Spes-Plan, following a statement issued yesterday by provincial police spokesman Col Leonard Hlathi.
“Three criminals robbed two chalets at Kruger Park Lodge (KPL) at approximately 02:00 on Thursday after which they fled across the Sabi River,” Hibbert said.
“Mr Daniel De Waal of Spes-Plan traced one of the stolen I-phones and realised that the robbers had now also crossed the Marite River and were headed towards Marite and Madras villages. De Waal, together with four Spes-Plan members, went to a footpath in the hills south of Madras Village. There they waited for an hour and a half before they heard two men come up the path.
“They were openly chatting to each other about the robbery at KPL. When the suspects were a metre away from the hidden Spes-Plan team, De Waal fired two shots into the ground and shone his torch at them.
“ The suspects tried to flee but De Waal tackled one of them while an operational team member managed to grab the other a bit further down the path. A fist fight broke out between the second suspect and the Spes-Plan member who resulted in both of them rolling down an embankment and landing up in a stream. The suspect managed to break free and escape.
“With one suspect caught, Spes-Plan collected the stolen items which had been dropped by the criminals and returned to KPL. Once there, the suspect pointed out where he and his accomplices had crossed the river after the burglary. He also provided the names of the other two suspects. Most of the stolen items were identified by the guests who were robbed at KPL.
“De Waal informed the police of the events which had taken place and SAPS then met the Spes-Plan team at our office,” Hibbert continued. ” It was at this point that the suspect freely admitted that he and his gang were responsible for the armed robberies in the area as well as the rapes which took place at Tatenda Guest House.
“Later on Thursday morning, the police obtained information that the other robber was spotted on a hill in Madras village. A cell phone signal was also picked up by their tracing unit. De Waal and a colleague went with the police to Madras.
“The police and Spes-Plan circled around the hill where the robbers were and chased towards them. The one fled in an easterly direction and was followed by police officials who fired warning shots to make him stop, but he managed to get away.
“The other ran down the hill followed by other police officials and a Spes-Plan member. The suspect unknowingly ran towards De Waal who had by then driven around the hill. As the criminal appeared, he saw De Waal waiting for him with a drawn gun and at the same moment, another Spes-Plan member tackled him from behind. The second suspect was then taken into custody,” Hibbert concluded.
The search for the third suspect is on-going.
