Four suspects were swiftly arrested through a collaborative effort between a private security company and the Tactical Response Team after hijacking a courier van on the N2 in Butterworth yesterday.
According to SAPS spokesperson Captain Majola Nkohli, it is alleged that yesterday, 28 April, at about 04:00, a grey Ford courier van was travelling on the N2 near Tholeni Location, Ndabakazi A/A (Butterworth), when the occupants of a white Toyota Avanza stopped the courier van at gunpoint and abducted the driver.
“The driver was later released in an open space,” he said. “The tracking company was activated, and used the tracking data to locate the hijacked van in the bushes in Gisi Location, Ngqamakhwe.”
Nkohli added that the armed response unit of the private company secured the hijacked courier van and another vehicle; a grey Ford Ikon with stolen items, but the suspects managed to flee.
“It is further said that two suspects, who managed to flee, went to Butterworth police station to report a false hijacking of a Ford Ikon, and were arrested,” he said.
Nkohli noted that the Tactical Response Team, with the assistance of Crime Intelligence, managed to trace the other two suspects travelling in a white Toyota Avanza in Butterworth CBD.
“Police recovered a Taurus pistol with ammunition, suspected stolen property and a signal-jamming device,” he said. “The four suspects aged between 25 and 27 will appear in the Butterworth Magistrate’s Court soon on charges ranging from hijacking to possession of suspected stolen property.”
