Hijacking suspects in police uniforms arrested in Sebenza

Five suspects who had just hijacked a truck on Modderfontein Road in Sebenza were arrested on Wednesday. 

Two of the suspects were wearing Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department uniforms and the other two were wearing South African Police Service reflector jackets. The team also rescued the truck driver and recovered the hijacked truck.

“Police counterintelligence head office received information about the suspects who are involved in truck hijackings around Gauteng. Information was that the suspects were planning to hijack a truck in Ekurhuleni,” police spokesperson Lt-Col Mavela Masondo said.

The team of law enforcement officers that included officers from the SAPS tactical response team, the anti-gang unit, the Hawks Gauteng tracking team, Gauteng's traffic police air wing, the CAP specialised operations and Tracker Connect, kept close observation of the suspects.

The suspects, aged between 50 and 69, were intercepted immediately after they hijacked the truck carrying solar batteries worth about R5m and kidnapped the driver.

All five suspects were arrested and charged with truck hijacking, kidnapping, possession of suspected stolen property and impersonating police officers. Two cars that were used by the suspects, a Hyundai Accent and a Hyundai iX35, were seized as they were allegedly used in the commission of crime.

“This is a great breakthrough as it might help us to solve other cases of truck hijackings, especially where the suspects are posing as police officers. This arrest is attributed to an ongoing collaboration between the police and private security companies,” said Gauteng police commissioner Lt-Gen Tommy Mthombeni.

Masondo said the suspects will be profiled to establish if they are linked to other serious and violent crimes. Investigation is also under way to establish how the suspects got the police uniforms.

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