Police in Mpumalanga are looking for suspects who robbed two houses on Wednesday 27 February 2019, at Zwelisha and Newscom near Nelspruit, in separate incidents.
According to information at police disposal, the first incident happened at Zwelisha at about 21:00 where five balaclava clad men stormed into the yard and confronted a young boy who was parking his mother’s vehicle. The men then instructed the boy, at gunpoint, to alight from the vehicle, a Toyota Yaris, proceeded to the house where his mother and siblings were accosted.
The suspects demanded money and bank cards with legitimate pin codes. Three of the suspects used the vehicle to go withdraw the money, leaving behind the other two holding the victims hostage. After a short while, one of the suspects received a call from his accomplices whereupon they robbed them of a flat screen TV and a cellphone before fleeing the scene. The family were left tied up but later managed to free themselves and alerted the police. The vehicle was later recovered abandoned not far from the scene.
In the second incident, which took place around soon after the incident mentioned above prompting police to believe that it may be the same group, five balaclava clad men who were in possession of a firearm, broke into a house at nearby Newscom, robbing a flat screen TV as well as an undisclosed amount of cash before shooting a family member and fleeing the scene with a vehicle belonging to the owner of the house.
Police were summoned and the injured man rushed to hospital for medical treatment. The vehicle, a BMW was also found abandoned also not far from the scene, with the TV and the cash still inside.
No arrest has been made as yet in both cases, anyone with information that may assist in the arrest of the suspects is requested to contact Capt Vusi Thobela on 082 469 1956 or the SAPS Crime Stop number 08600 10111.
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