EMALAHLENI – Police say they have filed a number of cases at which suspects disguising as police would flash blue lights at the motorists signalling them to stop around Delmas and Witbank.
The bogus cops would then rob them of their belongings or cargo in the case of trucks. Some of the victims happen to be foreign nationals and domestic tourists who are usually followed from Gauteng. On Thursday members of the South African Police Services (SAPS) in collaboration with a tracking company arrested three suspects, aged between 26 and 36 at Emalahleni for robbery, impersonating police and for possession of suspected stolen property.
“The arrest of the suspects is part of the police’s efforts to put an end as well as bring to justice all the suspects who are terrorising motorists by posing as different law enforcement agencies, where they would often pull over vehicles and rob occupants of their goods or belongings around Delmas on the N12 and Emalahleni on the N4, between Balmoral and Bronkhorspruit as well as surrounding areas,” said Mpumalanga SAPS spokesperson Brigadier Leonard Hlathi.
“In Delmas, vehicles that are targeted include trucks transporting different cargo, they also stop the drivers by flashing a blue light then force them to drive to secluded areas, the suspects then tie the victims, empty the loads, leaving them (victims) helpless in the bushes. Overwhelming complaints were reported at Delmas police station. however, the modus operandi revealed that police in Mpumalanga were facing a common challenge with their counterparts in Gauteng and therefore worked together hence the breakthrough.
“Subsequent to receiving these complaints, both provinces have been initially working on a plan that would bring an end to this reign of terror. They then coordinated their activities diligently as a collective with the tracking company and surveilled movements of these suspects,” Hlathi added.
Information at police disposal indicate that some of the victims were followed from Nelspruit and other areas in the lowveld but pounced on around Witbank and Delmas. On the said date, police spotted a VW Polo on the N4 which fitted the same description of the vehicle they were looking for and it had three occupants.
“Police instructed the driver to stop but he deliberately ignored them. The actions of the driver led to a high speed chase where the suspects were finally cornered at Emalahleni. Upon searching the three suspects as well as the vehicle, police recovered SAPS appointment cards, cellphones believed to be those belonging to the victims as well as other items. The trio were immediately brought to book and charged accordingly,” Hlathi said.
Extensive investigation into the matter is underway but police are not yet convinced that these are the only suspects operating around Delmas and Emalahleni. A preliminary probe suggests that the trio might be connected to a number of cases which were committed mainly in Mpumalanga and Limpopo Provinces respectively. Police have vowed to broaden the scope of their investigations against the suspects with a view to ascertain whether the trio are involved in the series of criminal activities, that have been registered around White River and Hazyview as well as other areas where foreign nationals in the main, were victims.
General Mondli Zuma welcomed the arrest of the three men and thanked the team of police from Mpumalanga, Gauteng as well as Tracker Connect for their relentless efforts in dealing with this type of sophisticated crime.
