Stakeholders successfully take down suspects and recover stolen vehicles

The police, in collaboration with private security companies, launched a search and apprehended four suspects in Ruimsig on May 28.

According to Help24 Secure CEO Sheldon Grobler, the team received a tip-off around 2pm and started to deploy in the area where a Toyota Etios was stolen and managed to spot it on Foxglove Avenue.

Help24 Secure alongside the West Rand Police’s K9 Unit, Fidelity Business Intelligence Centre and GP Tactical, managed to recover the Toyota Etios that was left by the suspects along Foxglove Avenue.

“We believed the suspects were not yet out of our area as they abandoned the stolen vehicle, we knew they would attempt to take another vehicle in the surrounding areas,” Grobler said.

The search teams were able to locate the suspects’ getaway vehicle (a Kia) from information provided by bystanders, and they promptly began searching the area for them.

The Kia was spotted at the Doreen and Malcolm Street intersection, where the teams swiftly executed a takedown of the four suspects. The Kia used by the suspects was fitted with false number plates, contained various implements used to commit crimes and a signal jammer to jam the tracking device.

The suspects were handed over to the police and after investigating, police found that the vehicle was also positively linked to a hijacking in Brixton.

Grobler shares three general safety tips that may help motorists to minimise hijacking incidents:

1. It is extremely important to ensure your vehicle has a tracking device, in most cases criminals tend to target older vehicles knowing that the vehicles might not have tracking devices
2. Observing your surroundings when travelling on the roads or stopping at shopping centres, events, etc
3. A vehicle can be stolen in less than two minutes, so always try to keep an eye on your vehicle wherever you park