A group of alleged hijackers who were terrorizing the community of Umlazi and the surroundings were arrested on 16 August 2017, by determined and committed members from the Ethekwini Outer South Cluster and other role-players.
Six suspects were traced and arrested while they were at Folweni and Umlazi. They were linked to three hijackings that were reported for the past two days at Folweni, Umlazi and Bhekithemba. The arrested suspects will appear in the Umlazi Magistrate’s Court soon facing charges of hijacking, kidnapping possession of unlicensed firearm and ammunition.
Police officials from the eThekwini Outer South Cluster detected a trend of hijacking of vehicles in their area. A multi disciplinary intelligence driven operation was conducted by various units following up on leads with regards to the identity of the suspects.
Their operations yielded positive results when they bust the gang and arrested all of them. The arrested suspects might be linked to a number of other hijackings reported in and around Durban. A number of hijacked vehicles were recovered.
An unlicensed 9mm pistol as well as a toy gun believed to be the same used during the commission of crimes were recovered from the suspects. Some of the stolen property from the victims of crime were also recovered such as wrist watch, car keys, cellphones and liquor.
In two of the hijackings, the victims were forced to drive away with the suspects and they were dropped off at Z section in Umlazi area.
The KwaZulu-Natal Acting Provincial Commissioner, Major General Bheki Langa praised the members for the arrest and the recovery of hijacked vehicles. “This is a significant breakthrough and I applaud all those who worked jointly to bust this gang. We are however not relaxing as there is still a lot that needs to be done to break the back other gangs that are still operating in our space,” he said.
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