A team effort between various units in the SAPS and a Provincial traffic official resulted in the swift arrest of an alleged armed robbery suspect and the confiscation of a stolen firearm today, 13/11.
It is alleged that at about 11:35, a 28-year-old man and his brother were travelling on the N2 from Humansdorp to Port Elizabeth when their Toyota Dyno truck had a puncture. They stopped on the side of the freeway near Baywest and while busy replacing the tyre, a white Toyota Yaris with four occupants stopped behind them. The men jumped out and one pointed a firearm and demanded money. The complainant gave them the cash and they took four boxes of cigarettes from the truck as well as their two cellphones. The value of the stolen items is not yet known.
A patrolling traffic officer noticed the boxes being loaded into the Yaris and became suspicious. As he pulled over, the suspects sped off. The traffic officer chased after them. At the corners of Gourit and Kraai Streets in Sherwood, the suspects discarded two boxes of cigarettes on the pavement. The traffic officer contacted the Station Commander of SAPS Kabega Park, Colonel Tony Nomdoe for backup. Within minutes, Col Nomdoe responded and together they proceeded to Kraai Street where they found the abandoned cigarette boxes and the false numbers plates of the vehicle.
While still busy in Kraai Street, three grass cutters beckoned the law enforcers where they found a 47-year-old male lying bleeding on the pavement. He sustained a gunshot wound to his left upper thigh. It is alleged that the suspect jumped out of the Toyota Yaris and was trying to jump over a boundary wall when he accidentally shot himself. A 9mm pistol was found in the yard. The suspect was arrested.
The SAPS Airwing provided air support to PE K9 members who found the Toyota Yaris abandoned at a car wash in Ferguson Road in New Brighton.
The suspect is detained on charges of illegal possession of a firearm and discharging a firearm in a residential area. The firearm is reported stolen in Cambridge in November 2016. Detectives are busy investigating the suspect’s possible link to the armed robbery. Further charges may be added at a later stage.
Acting Mount Road Cluster Commander, Brig Thandiswe Kupiso applauded the sterling efforts of all those involved. ‘The continuous and positive collaboration between the SAPS and other law enforcement will definitely ensure that criminality is rooted out of our metro. With the festive season on our doorstep, law enforcement will be highly visible in all public and hotspot areas to ensure that criminals have no space to breathe,’ added Brig Kupiso
