PARKTOWN The arrest of three truck hijackers, three illegal Dental Surgery practioners, three police officers and seizure of 14 unlicensed firearms are part of the police success over the weekend. The suspects are due to appear at the Brakpan, Randfontein, and Springs Magistrate Courts tomorrow.
The hijackers were arrested in Brakpan following the hijacking of a truck from Cape on N1 near Diepkloof by an unknown number of suspects using a vehicle with a blue light. The driver was blindfolded and taken to a warehouse in Brakpan. With an intervention of a task team, the suspects were arrested before a stock worth more than R300 000 was off-loaded. Three suspects were arrested at the scene while two others managed to escape and police are looking for them.
In another unrelated incident in Springs, police and the Department of Health closed an illegal Dental Surgery and three suspects who are foreign nationals were arrested. Several exhibits including fake dental practitioner’s certificate and other equipment used at the surgery were seized. The owner of the surgery also suspected to be a foreign national, was not at the scene and police are still looking for him. Three arrested suspects will appear at the Springs Magistrate Court tomorrow on charges of fraud and contravention of the Health Professional Health Act.
One of the police officers who is a Constable would likely be charged with perjury after he had reported a case of attempted murder whilst he was allegedly injured on the leg during a scuffle with a victim of hijacking. Initially he claimed that he had been shot during a suspects who may have tried to hijack him. At a later stage, he was identified at the hospital as one of the suspects who had hiajcked a Toyota minibus in Mamelodi. He was arrested at the Pholosong Hospital where he had booked himself for treatment. He was off-duty at the time of the incident.
Two other policemen from Randfontein were arrested for theft of cement and assault of a security guard at the Affri-Village business premises. It is alleged that they entered the business premises whilst they were on duty. Inside the premises, they allegedly stole a bag of cement. A security guard who confronted them at the gate was allegedly assaulted. They are due to appear at the Randfontein Magistrate Court tomorrow.
No one may escape the long arm of the law and those who are found on the wrong side including our own members are likely to face the full might of the law. Police are now on the festive mood, ready with festive season operations to make it difficult for the criminals who think they will harass members of the community and make money. A tide is surely turning against them as I am deploying every available member including the reservists throughout the festive season, says the Gauteng SAPS Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Mawela.
Fourteen (14) firearms were also seized during the weekend operations and stop and search operations by police officers on routine patrols. The arrested suspects will face charges of possession of unlicensed firearms when they appear at the various Magistrate Courts including Johannesburg, Vereeniging, Thembisa and Heidelberg.
Source: South African Police Service