By Jonk wa Mashamba
Editor-In-Chief
Police in Gauteng have arrested four thugs soon after they allegedly hijacked a courier truck.
They took goods that include laptops, medication and clothes.
Lieutenant Colonel Mavela Masondo said the suspects who were found in possession of an unlicensed firearm and various passports were arrested in Rockville, Soweto, on Wednesday, 26 April 2023.
Masondo said the driver of the courier truck was hijacked in Ekurhuleni and later dumped a few kilometers away.
“The suspects drove the truck to an isolated place where they offloaded some of the goods to their vehicle.
“The police collaborated with the tracker company and information led them to a house in Rockville where four suspects were found.
“Upon searching their car, police found different kinds of medication, clothes with price tags on them, and laptops, among other items.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that the items are the ones that were taken from the hijacked truck.”
He said the suspects were charged with car hijacking, kidnapping, possession of suspected stolen goods, possession of an unlicensed firearm, and possession of ammunition.
Gauteng Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Elias Mawela, praised the collaboration between the police and tracker company, that led to the arrest of the suspects.
“The investigation is underway to establish if these suspects are not linked to other robberies and hijackings of courier trucks in Gauteng,” said Masondo.
In a separate incident, on 26 April 2023, police from Gauteng Provincial Organised Crime Investigation Unit received a tip-off regarding suspects who had suspected stolen cell phones.
” The police pounced on the flats in Johannesburg Central Business District and found three suspects in possession of more than 25 new cellphones that include iPhones, Samsung, and Huawei, worth more than R350 000.
“One of the suspects, an undocumented foreign national, was found with drugs,” Masondo said.
