National police have hailed the arrest of a group of men in Centurion on Wednesday morning as ‘breaking the back of what appears to be a theft syndicate’.
The arrests were made on the R21 highway near Olifantsfontein.
Police shot and killed one man while four others, including a wounded man, were arrested.
“Our multi-disciplinary approach, which led to the arrests, has once again proven to be one of the most effective approaches in dealing with crime in this country,” said national police commissioner General Khehla Sitole.
On Wednesday morning, officers of the police crime intelligence unit, Pretoria K9 Unit, police highway patrol and private security were searching for a group of men involved in various crimes across the province.
“The men were part of a syndicate involved in burglaries, theft of motorbikes, boats, trailers and other high value items,” police said in a statement.
“When the team spotted the vehicles a shootout and high speed chase ensued.”
“In the process, the driver of the bakkie tried to force the police vehicles off the road by swerving into them. One of the men was killed and four others were subsequently arrested.”
Police also recovered two firearms from the suspects and seized the vehicles used by the men.
Police asked anyone who may have information on crime to contact them via the MySAPSApp or crime stop on 08600-10111.
Informers may remain anonymous and all information will be treated with the strictest confidence.
ALSO READ: ‘Motorbike thief’ shot, four arrested in R21 highway shootout
Do you have more information about the story? Please send us an email to editorial@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.
For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites:
For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram
