The Middelburg Observer has heard reports that three suspects driving a Volkswagen Polo were arrested this afternoon, after being pursued by police.

An eyewitness at the scene said that they were driving behind members of the Middelburg Flying Squad, when a shootout began at a robot near the Middelburg Chamber of Commerce.

“We immediately drove away as soon as we could to avoid getting hit. There was also a Checkers Sixty60 driver there, who got off his motorbike and started running,” the source said.

The suspects in the Volkswagen Polo are said to have robbed two hitchhikers on the N11 Groblersdal road.

The suspects are believed to have picked up the two victims, where they proceeded to take their possessions and valuables, and then dropped them off along the road.

A motorist who was driving behind the Volkswagen Polo, who claims to have witnessed the entire ordeal, picked up the two victims after they were dropped off, and then immediately notified the police.

Once the suspects inside the Volkswagen Polo noticed police tailing them, they allegedly threw out the victims’ belongings.

No injuries have been reported relating to the case.

• The Middelburg Observer has reached out to SAPS for comment, but they did not respond in time for publication.