On Saturday afternoon 4 August 2018, a joint operation was conducted by the Cape Town K9 unit, Flying Squad and Netstar Tracker to trace a vehicle that was hijacked in a house robbery earlier in the week. The vehicle they were attempted to trace was a white Toyota Corolla Quest Sedan.
At approximately 15:10 the members approached a residence in Friesland Street, Montana and noticed a Mercedes Benz parked on the sidewalk in front of the premises and white Nissan double cab in the street.
Upon entering the premises they spotted the Toyota Quest and a number of men in the yard, who attempted to flee in various directions when they noticed the police. Three of the men were apprehended and a prohibited firearm was found in the possession of one of them.
At the same time the Nissan that was parked in front of the house sped off and was pursued by the Netstar helicopter who relayed the movements of the police.
Meanwhile, the members chased a man that fled the scene on foot and he was soon apprehended nearby. A bag containing a prohibited firearm, a 9mm Norinco pistol, was recovered on the roof of an outer building on the premises. In the backyard the members also found an open safe.
The members also searched a Toyota Hiace which was parked in front of the Quest in which they found two more firearms, a R5 and a Luger pistol.
Further investigation revealed that the Mercedes Benz that was parked in front of the premises was stolen during a hijacking in Lansdowne last month.
Meanwhile, with the guidance of the helicopter the members pulled the Nissan over in Valhalla Park and apprehended the driver, a 36 year old man. It was established that he is an off duty detective driving an official saps vehicle and he also had an official radio in his possession.
Upon searching the residence the members found a bank note counting machine, pellet and toy guns and a crow bar.
The arrested suspects are aged 28, 36, 47, 50 and the 36 year old SAPS member.
Various Specialised SAPS Units were on the scene conducting investigations.
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