NELSPRUIT – The police in Mpumalanga, working collectively with their counterparts in Gauteng as well as a vehicle tracker company, arrested six armed robbery suspects, aged between 31 and 39, on Saturday, 08 August 2020 in Mmametlhake. The team followed up on information that sought to trace suspects responsible for two armed robbery incidents carried out at Gamaria Trust, Mmametlhake. They managed to locate the suspects, recovered a vehicle as well as three firearms, ammunition, and other items valued at about R 280 000.
It was reported that the suspects, who were heavily armed, alighted from a Toyota Quantum Kombi and stormed into a shop where they found the owner including a man delivering some bakery items. They fired shots, robbed the victims of an undisclosed amount of cash as well as their cellphones, while another victim was robbed of his white Isuzu bakkie when he stopped outside the shop, unbeknown there was a robbery in progress. The suspects then fled the scene in both vehicles, with the stolen items, and headed to Gauteng.
The matter was reported to the police at Mametlhake as well as the vehicle tracker company who then engaged the police in Gauteng where a high-speed chase ensued and subsequently resulted in the arrest of two suspects who were driving the stolen Isuzu bakkie. These suspects were cornered near Hammanskraal and were found to be in possession of two unlicensed firearms as well as ammunition. Meanwhile, the four other suspects, driving the Quantum, were cornered and arrested near Wallmansdal and were also found in possession of a firearm.
The Provincial Commissioner of the South African Police Service in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Mondli Zuma has welcomed the arrest and recovery of the firearms. The General has further commended the team on the collaborative effort that yielded such positive results.
Meanwhile, the suspects are expected to appear at the Mbibane Magistrate’s Court today, 11 August 2020, facing charges of two counts of armed robbery, possession of unlicensed firearms and possession of suspected stolen property. Police cannot rule out the possibilities of adding more charges against the suspects.