Following an armed robbery that took place on Thursday, 29 June 2017, at Standerton, where a British American Tobacco (BAT) vehicle was robbed of cigarettes and a security guard from Fidelity was injured, five suspects were subsequently brought to book later on the same day. They made their appearance today at the Standerton Magistrates’ Court facing charges of armed robbery and attempted murder.
The appearance came after a suspicious grey Audi A3 was pulled-off the road by the Johannesburg Flying Squad at Tembisa in Gauteng. Upon searching the vehicle, police found a shotgun and a jamming device. All five men, Simauki Johannes Swarahle (29), Themba Baloyi (32), Thulani Jeremiah Ngwenya (48), Obed Nembe (52) and Thabo Amos Mphelo (36) were arrested on the spot. A further probe led to the suspects being linked to the above-mentioned robbery.
On the day of the robbery, the Fidelity Guards were escorting the BAT vehicle when their convoy was joined by a Toyota Corolla. The occupants of the Corolla suddenly opened fire at the escort vehicle injuring the driver who in turn lost control of the vehicle. They then forced the driver of the BAT vehicle to pull-off the road at gunpoint and in the process were joined by their other accomplices who were driving in a Toyota Quantum. They held the BAT staff and the guards at gunpoint and proceeded to load the cigarettes into their (suspects) vehicles, the Corolla and Quantum.
The suspects hijacked an Isuzu bakkie which approached the scene while the robbery was in progress and they fled the scene in all three cars. The suspects in the Quantum came across the police and a chase ensued. The thugs then fired shots at the police who retaliated, they then abandoned the Quantum and managed to escape on foot into the nearby bushes. The Isuzu bakkie was later found abandoned.
The suspects were remanded in custody until 19 July 2017, pending a formal bail application.
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