Police put brakes on armed gang spreading terror in Pretoria
"Through police crime intelligence, information was received about a gang that is involved in vehicle hijackings and house robberies in the Pretoria area."
Police have arrested a group of men believed to be behind some hijackings and house robberies in various communities of Pretoria.
Provincial police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Mavela Masondo said the police arrested four suspects on Thursday who were found in possession of three unlicensed firearms, a vehicle reported to have been hijacked and a vehicle taken during a house robbery.
The arrest took place at the corner of Sefako Makgatho Drive and Moloto Road in Kameeldrift.
“Through police crime intelligence, information was received about a gang that is involved in vehicle hijackings and house robberies in the Pretoria area.
“A team consisting of highway patrol, Tracker Connect and the Hawks launched an operation to search for the suspects,” Masondo said.
“The suspects’ vehicle, a Mazda CX-5 with four occupants, was stopped in Kameeldrift.”
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Masondo said upon searching the car and the suspects, three unlicensed firearms were found.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that the car (they were driving) was reportedly hijacked.
Further investigation led the police to Pretoria where police found a Chevrolet Cruze that was taken during a house robbery in Pretoria [also linked to the suspects],” he said.
“All four suspects were arrested for possession of unlicensed firearms, possession of hijacked vehicle and possession of stolen vehicle.”
Masondo said firearms that were recovered have been sent to the forensic science laboratory for ballistic tests to establish if they were used in any other crimes.
He said this operation formed part of the police provincial operation which recovered 78 unlicensed various calibre firearms and 102 rounds of ammunition.
“These firearms were recovered as a result of police-initiated operations such as stop-and-searches, crime combating, suspects tracing and also following up on tip-offs from the community,” he said.
Masondo said Gauteng police commissioner Lieutenant-General Elias Mawela was pleased with the way police dealt with the proliferation of illegal firearms in the province.
“These are the firearms that are used to commit serious and violent crimes in our province and I am happy that our members are working hard to recover them.
“I believe that we have saved lives of innocent people who would have been killed by criminals using these firearms.
Ballistic tests results will help us link these suspects to other crimes committed in our province,” Mawela was quoted as having said.
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