4 nabbed in Polokwane for possession of explosives, parolees arrested in Seshego

Three men and one woman were arrested on Monday night, 9 November, for possession of explosives. A statement by Police Spokesperson, Col Moatshe Ngoepe said their vehicle was stopped by police and several detonating explosives were found during their search.

Ngoepe added that the explosives are believed to be the same used to blast ATMs.

“The suspects will appear before the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court, tomorrow, 12 November,” Ngoepe told Review.

Meanwhile, a joint operation led to the arrest of five men, between the ages of 24 and 39 in Seshego and Mmotong, last night.  “The men were arrested for a series of business robberies where they allegedly terrorised spaza shops in the Seshego and Mankweng policing areas for some time,” Ngoepe explained.

He said preliminary investigations revealed that one of the men (27) was out on bail for kidnapping, rape and common robbery which he allegedly committed during 2017.

“Another suspect (31), was out on bail for the possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition, theft and murder which he allegedly committed in the Ritavi policing area in March 2019. The other suspect, aged 28, was out on bail for the possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition which he allegedly committed during January in Seshego, while the last two suspects are still being profiled. They may still be linked to more similar cases,” Ngoepe added.

The police recovered a firearm with five rounds of ammunition, as well as a hatchback which was found to be hijacked in Mpumalanga in September. “The car had false GP registration numbers. Bank cards, a flash machine, toy gun and clothing were also confiscated,” he said.

Ngoepe added that the relentless efforts by police in Limpopo to fight crime are yielding positive results and added that the five arrests in Seshego and four in Polokwane bring the total number of arrests during their recent joint operation to 20.

The operations, which were conducted in the Vhembe, Waterberg, Sekhukhune and Capricorn Districts saw suspects arrested for burglaries, business robberies, possession of drugs and unlicensed firearms, dealing in illicit cigarettes.

Other highlights from the operation include:

Stolen vehicles recovered following car chase

The police in the Makuya policing area outside Thohoyandou managed to recover two motor vehicles which were reported stolen in Gauteng.

“The police in Mankweng also recovered a hijacked vehicle found abandoned in the Polokwane policing area after a long car chase with the members. The suspects managed to evade the arrest,” Ngoepe said.

Illicit cigarettes and unlicensed firearm recovered outside Groblersdal

The Highway Patrol Team arrested eight men, aged between 23 and 38, in the Dennilton policing area outside Groblersdal, for possession and dealing in illicit cigarettes. They recovered an unlicensed firearm as well as 109 cartons of illicit cigarettes.

“The suspects were arrested on the spot and during the arrest, one man tried to bribe the police with R500. A bribery charge was also added to his offences,” Ngoepe confirmed.

More illicit cigarettes and stolen vehicles

Two men were arrested an 100 cartons of illicit cigarettes were recovered by police in the Villa Nora area outside Lephalale.

“In the Masemola policing area outside Lebowakgomo, two suspected stolen motor vehicles were recovered after they were found abandoned separately in the bushes along the R579 road. They searched them and found one unlicensed firearm, three knives and four cellphones,” Ngoepe added.

The arrested suspects will soon appear before various magistrate’s courts and police investigations are still continuing, Ngoepe concluded.