Three suspects alleged to be involved in the murder of German tourist Jörg Schnarr have been arrested, with one of the men being nabbed in a retail store in Mbombela.

Mpumalanga police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala said one of the suspects was arrested in Mbombela, another in Badplaas and the third in Elukwatini between Wednesday and Thursday.

Mohlala said the suspects are aged between 25 and 38.

An intelligence-driven operation by the Mpumalanga Task Team, Piet Retief Crime Intelligence, Piet Retief detectives along with Bossies Community Justice (BCJ) and AG Solutions was conducted on Wednesday regarding a suspect driving a silver Volkswagen Polo.

AG Solutions’ Callen Herbst reported that BCJ’s Albert Gryvenstein, who is also the director of AG Solutions, was in contact with the police regarding the silver vehicle that was believed to be involved in two house robberies in Piet Retief.

Herbst and Lappies Labuschagne, along with the various police units, found the car at a retail store in Mbombela late on Wednesday afternoon.

Herbst said the driver tried to flee the store’s parking lot, but the police blocked the entrance and cornered the suspect while AG Solutions and police went in to apprehend him.

Mohlala said the suspect was allegedly involved in a string of business robberies around Piet Retief, Ermelo and Bethal – as well as the murder of the German tourist.

Mohlala said an in-depth probe by the police led the team to arrest the two other suspects in Elukwatini and Badplaas and that one of these suspects had been found to be in possession of a white Toyota Tazz, believed to be used in Schnarr’s murder.

He said a firearm with its serial numbers filed off was also recovered during the arrest along with 11 rounds of live ammunition and some jamming devices.

Mohlala added that the trio are expected to appear in court soon.

The provincial police commissioner, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Manamela, welcomed the arrests and said the hard work by the men and women in blue will assist to improve trust between the public and the police.

She further assured the community that more successes will be witnessed as more officers have been deployed on the ground as part of the 2022/23 Safer Festive Season Operations.