Last night the SAPS National Investigation Unit (NIU), under the command of Lieutenant General Vinesh Moonoo, recovered several million rands worth of stolen goods and detained a 42-year-old man for questioning.
On Tuesday, 13 May 2014 a British American Tabacco (BAT) company truck with a container carrying 980 cases of Peter Stuyvesant cigarettes to the value of R12 million was hi-jacked.
At approximately 4:30am the truck left the BAT depot in Heidelberg for Pretoria followed by an escort vehicle with two drivers. While travelling on the N3 a sedan with blue lights and a SUV ordered the driver of the truck as well as the escort vehicle to stop.
The driver of the truck and the two occupants from escort vehicle were driven away in the suspect’s SUV while the sedan which was used as the escort vehicle was left abandoned at the scene with bullet holes in it. The victims were dropped off in Midrand where they reported the matter at the local police station. The truck and the empty container were found abandoned at Protea Glen, Soweto.
It is not possible to confirm at this stage whether the vehicle with blue lights which was utilized was a legitimate police vehicle as criminals often use stolen or hi-jacked vehicles to commit these crimes.
The National Investigation Unit which was set up by the National Commissioner, General Riah Phiyega to investigate the “blue light robberies” among other cases was tasked with this investigation.
The team worked tirelessly since Tuesday morning and their hard work paid dividends when their investigation led them to a retail facility in Quellierie Street, Witpoortjie in Roodepoort. In one of the units police found some of the cigarettes to the value of approximately R3 million. They also found other items like lawn mowers, canoes, car parts, alcohol, modems, speed points, large trolleys and several boxes with undisclosed items which are suspected to have been taken in other “blue light” robbery cases.
The detectives in this case will continue to work around the clock to identify those responsible for this and possibly other “blue light” robbery cases.
The suspect will appear in the Roodepoort Magistrates’ Court tomorrow on charges of possession of suspected stolen property.