Four suspects arrested for theft after tip-off
We would like to thank the members of the community who are working hand in hand with the police
MALALANE – On Monday morning police officers arrested four suspects connected to a spate of house robberies and car thefts in Hectorspruit, and this town.
According to Tonga Police spokesman, Lt Mzwandile Nyambi, officers received an anonymous tip-off informing them of the location of stolen goods.
“Police then launched a search and found the four suspects in possession of a nine-millimetre pistol, 10 live rounds, five gold wedding rings, four cellphones, a coffee maker, a Lenovo laptop, LG flat-screen TV, PC screen monitor, digital-control amplifier, five pair of ladies sandals, Pentax binoculars, 100 casino chips, and one Lenovo laptop charger,” Nyambi explained.
According to him, a vast number of people were contacted to identify their stolen property. He said, “Owners have come to the station to identify their property and it was discovered that it had been stolen at Malalane and Hectorspruit respectively during house robberies. It was also established that the two vehicles recovered by the police earlier in Steenbok had also been stolen during these two robberies.”
One was a Toyota Fortuner, stolen in Malalane hours before the arrest of the suspects. It is believed that both vehicles were abandoned after the culprits failed to cross the Mozambican border.
“We suspect that the same group of suspects are also responsible for a robbery at a lodge in Marloth Park. However, this has not yet been confirmed as
we are investigating the matter and the crime happened on November 20,” said Komatipoort police spokesman, Const Natacia Mbuyane.
According to the spokesman for Malalane SAPS, Sgt Bheki Nkosi, the victims in the Malalane robbery were not harmed. Nkosi said, “The suspects were armed and tied the victims up with ropes. However, they did not harm anyone. They took their car along with some other belongings.” Following the recovery of the vehicle, Nyambi appealed to homeowners who had been victims of a robbery to come forward.
“Whether it was recently or happened some time ago, we need people to come forth to identify their property. Also for the identification of the suspects where possible, they have not appeared in court as yet as we are hoping to positively link them to other crimes,” Nyambi said.
He stressed that, with the help of the community, police could ensure that suspects like these were kept behind bars when arrested.
“Only with enough evidence can we do that,” Nyambi said.
Tonga station commander, Brig Velisiwe Mdaka, said, “We would like to thank the members of the community who are working hand in hand with the police in making sure that the suspects get arrested. Together we can fight crime.”
