POLOKWANE – Two suspects aged 28 and 35 were arrested in the early hours of this morning, Friday 08 November 2019, in Musina during a snap operation conducted by the Makhado Task Team, Musina Visible Policing, Community Policing Forum and the Local Security Companies.
The suspects are linked to an armed robbery that took place on Tuesday, 05 November 2019 at a Hotel in Musina town. It is alleged that on this day, two Security officers arrived at the said Hotel to collect cash. They were accosted by the two suspects and after failed attempts to take the money, they then robbed the security officers a pistol and a rifle. The suspects fled from the scene in a Grey Nissan Hard Body.
A well-coordinated operation was then conducted and some valuable leads were followed up. The suspects were nabbed at about 03h00 after they were cornered at a house in Extension 09 at Mmatswale settlement on the outskirts of Musina town.
During the arrest, the following items were recovered hidden inside the house and at different locations:
• Two (02) pistols
• One (01) rifle
• Twenty-eight (28) rounds of ammunition
• Six (06) cellphones
• Two (02) laptops
• VW Polo car keys.
Preliminary police investigations also linked the suspects with a hijacking incident that took place on the same day of the hotel robbery, where five suspects allegedly accosted and threatened a 32-year-old woman while on her way to work and hijacked her VW Polo motor vehicle at around Appelblaar, Extension 04. The vehicle was later found abandoned at a farm around Musina.
The two suspects are expected to appear in the Musina Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 11 November 2019, facing charges of armed robbery, carjacking, possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition and possession of the suspected stolen property.
The manhunt for the remaining suspects is still underway and Police are appealing to anyone with information that can lead to their arrest to urgently contact Colonel Mamuhoyi at
082 414 776, Crime Stop at 08600 10111 or the nearest police station.
The Acting Provincial Commissioner of the South African Police Service in Limpopo, Major General Jan Scheepers, has commended the members for a well-coordinated operation that led to the swift arrest of these criminals.