Suspects sought after daring heist
The robbers and the security guards exchanged fire during the incident, but luckily no one was injured.
LYDENBURG – Early Thursday morning several shots were fired when six suspects hijacked three vehicles on the Long Tom Pass near Whiskey Creek.
Two suspects fled in a Fidelity security vehicle that was escorting two Iveco vans transporting an undisclosed number of British tobacco cigarettes. The two other cars used in the heists, a Nissan Almera and Toyota Hilux, are still missing. The robbers and the security guards exchanged fire during the incident, but luckily no one was injured.
The two suspects who fled with the Fidelity bakkie were apprehended while still in the vehicle. This followed after a community member saw them changing their clothes in a bush at Rossouw Street (next to Lydenburg Transnet) and immediately informed the police. Upon their arrival they found the two suspects still busy dressing. They tried to flee but were caught by the SAPS.
According to a witness on the scene, a shoot-out ensued between the suspects and the police. The witness said it was then when he and other community members rushed to see what was happening. “I saw two police vehicles and before I knew it they were chasing people into the tall grass.”
According to Lydenburg Police spokesman Capt Kaizer Alfred Moela, the suspects were driving a white Toyota Hilux bakkie and Nissan Almera when they left Mbombela early the morning. “Two were in the Almera and four were in bakkie. They followed the three cars from the Long Tom Pass. When they were nine kilometres away from Lydenburg they overtook the security vehicle and forced the officer out of the car leaving him behind on the pass.”
The suspects then split up. Two of them fled with the Fidelity bakkie.
“Those in the Hilux then proceeded to force one of the Iveco vehicles to a standstill. One of them stood up from the back of the bakkie and held the driver and passenger at gunpoint with a 9mm. One of the suspects held them hostage while the others proceeded to attempt the third hijacking. “When they tried to overtake the third car, the driver of the Iveco didn’t want to give them space to pass because he was suspicious of the vehicle. The suspects, however, forced their way in front of the van and pulled the same stunt as with the other two hijacked vehicles.
“After the driver was forced to stop, the suspects took all the cigarettes in the Iveco. They loaded the bakkie to the brim and fled the scene. We are not certain which direction the bakkie took and we still do not have information regarding what happened to it. We are currently investigating the matter.”
The Fidelity bakkie was confiscated by the SAPS and two suspects had been taken into custody.
