| An alleged robber was killed and six others arrested during an Intelligence-driven operation | |
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| Date Published: | 2018/08/19 |
| Description Details: | |
Media Statement from the office of the National Commissioner Media Centre Pretoria: 19 August 2018 - The National Commissioner of the South African Police Service, General Khehla John Sitole has commended the continued Crime Intelligence led operations by various multi-disciplinary task teams that continue to squeeze the space of criminals to zero. In the past week, at The Glen Mall, Moffatview in Johannesburg, one of the teams arrested six suspects, the seventh suspect was fatally wounded during a shootout. This after the group of armed men allegedly robbed a courier van. On Friday, 17 August 2018, at about 09:30, it is alleged that an unknown number of suspects traveling in five vehicles, two sedans and three minibuses attacked and shot at the driver of a courier vehicle before hijacking it and fleeing the scene. The driver managed to escape unscathed. The suspects loaded the goods from the courier vehicle into one of the minibuses at an unknown location and thereafter drove toward Forest Hill. Crime intelligence led a team to a guest house where upon arrival there, a shootout ensued between the police and the suspects. Six suspects aged between 35 and 42 were apprehended, one of them was taken to hospital with a gunshot wound. The seventh suspect was fatally shot during the shootout while others managed to flee the scene. Of the six arrested suspects, is out on bail for a cash in transit robbery case while another was being sought for a 2009 house robbery case. The police are still profiling the rest of the suspects to determine if they are linked to other serious and violent crimes. Some of the stolen goods were found inside the minibus which was reported hijacked in Cleveland during April this year. The police also seized a firearm with the serial number erased, a Toyota Quantum suspected to have been stolen as well as two "jamming devices". The firearm will be sent for analysis to establish if it was used in the commission of other crimes. The National Commissioner has commended the team for tactically approaching the suspects who were known to be armed and dangerous wherein our members were not injured during a shootout that ensued. “On the 2nd of September we will be commemorating our members who died in the line of duty. In every incident that police are involved in a shootout they have to apply their tactical training to subdue and arrest armed suspects", said General Sitole -Ends-
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