Johannesburg Central police arrested four suspected carjackers on 2 May and are still searching for others.
According to a spokesperson for the Johannesburg Central Police Station, Captain Xoli Mbele, the arrested suspects were apprehended in Rossettenville.
He said they are searching for others who hijacked a BMW X5 at Franklin Roosevelt Park on Beyers Naude Drive on 25 April. The BMW was later recovered in Soweto but no suspects have been arrested and a manhunt has been launched by the police.
Read: Johannesburg Central Police nab man for firearm and ammunition
“The car was recovered in one of the houses in Mofolo Central by our Johannesburg Central Cluster detectives,” said Mbele.
“It is alleged that four male suspects hijacked a 41-year-old owner while he was walking towards his car. The four suspects approached him and two of them pointed firearms at him before hijacking his car.”
Police used an AAP device [a new electronic device used only by the police to track cars even when they’re hidden in a garage] to track a vehicle and the vehicle was recovered inside the garage, fitted with false registration plates. The suspects are still at large and the police investigation is ongoing.
Meanwhile, the suspects were arrested by the Johannesburg Central Cluster Crime Combating Unit in conjunction with the Metro police. They were arrested while being in possession of the hijacked motor vehicle at Rossettenville, as the police were carrying out their routine crime prevention duties.
“The police saw a suspicious silver Toyota Corolla at a corner of Verona and Carter streets.
Read: Suspects arrested during police patrol
“They stopped and searched them and discovered that the vehicle was hijacked in Mayfair on 7 February,” said Mbele.
When it was hijacked, Mbele said the suspects also robbed the owner and other occupants of their cell phones, using firearms.
An investigation is underway and the suspects are expected to appear soon in the Johannesburg Magistrates’ Court.
Details: Xoli Mbele 011 497 7135.
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