Several arrested after spike in farm attacks
Several suspects were arrested in the past few days after a spike in farm attacks the past two weeks.
Last Friday, a family living at Hoedspruit Farm near the Stoffberg road was attacked by criminals, who are still at large.
They were reportedly assaulted, and the criminals stole their tools, cellphones, and cash.
• In a related incident last Monday, Ernest Nkosi (37) appeared in the Belfast Magistrate’s Court on charges of armed robbery after a hijacking on a farm and a shooting incident later that same day.
A farm manager in Belfast was paying employees when a group of robbers, of which Nkosi was allegedly one of them, pointed a firearm at him and forced him back inside his own bakkie. The robbers then hijacked the bakkie.
As the farm owner was driving to the farm, he saw the bakkie and robbers with the farm manager inside.
He gave chase, after which the robbers dumped the hijacked bakkie with the victim inside, leaving it on the side of the road, and got into a black Mercedes-Benz, which had been following them. At one stage, the robbers jumped out of the Mercedes and started shooting at the farmer.
Fearing for his life, he drove slower and once the robbers were back in the Mercedes, he commenced his pursuit.
At one stage, there were several trucks on the road and the Mercedes couldn’t be seen.
It must have been during this time when the Mercedes stopped and three of the robbers climbed into a VW Polo.
The police, local security guards and other farmers closed several roads and the driver of the black Mercedes (Nkosi) was caught and arrested.
The VW Polo wasn’t pulled over at any roadblocks as the robbers were only seen entering the VW Polo after the incident on farm surveillance footage.
The Middelburg Observer spoke to the traumatised farmer, who wished to remain anonymous.
He said he was grateful that neither he nor his employees were injured during the incident.
Also read:
• On July 6, Zwelithini Mtsweni (23) appeared at the Belfast Magistrate’s Court after surrendering to the police in connection with the murder of a farm guard (44).
The victim was found lying in a pool of blood by family members on July 2.
Mtsweni turned himself in two days later in connection with the murder.
• Just a few days after the farm attack in Belfast, a family was attacked last Thursday by robbers at a lodge near Machadodorp.
Also read:
Members of the Serious Violent Crime Unit’s detection team, as well as security firms and the Police K9 Unit, worked together last Friday in a joint operation to arrest three suspects.
Thulani Nkosi (24), Alex Phoku (32) and Lwazi Mabunda (35) appeared in the Kabokweni Magistrate’s Court on, among other things, possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition.
During their arrest in Kabokweni, the police confiscated several firearms, including pistols, rifles, silencers and ammunition.
According to a press release by the provincial office, the operation was carried out after the police received information about the whereabouts of the suspects.
The suspects might be linked to several crimes committed in the province recently, including robberies.
The seized firearms (video) will undergo ballistic testing to determine if they have been previously used in the commission of other crimes.
• The provincial office also confirmed that they are investigating the possibility that they could have been involved in the farm attack at the lodge in Machadodorp.
@middelburgobserver Police seized several illegally obtained weapons during arrest. In the video, the policeman is talking about the different calibre of weapons that were seized.
