The Middelburg flash patrol stopped a constable attached to the Tshwane Metro Police and two accomplices in their tracks when they wanted to hijack a truck that was transporting supplies.
The constable and his two accomplices, respectively 33 and 34 years old, were arrested on Thursday around 14:00 on the N4 highway near Phola, in Ogies, between the Petro Port and Arbor exits.
According to Brig. Selvy Mohlala, police spokesperson, the emergency patrol officers saw a suspicious white Toyota Corolla with
Spotted a Gauteng license plate. The car was parked in a strategic position by the side of the road.
“The members of the emergency patrol approached the car to investigate. That’s when a male person dressed in a Tshwane Metro Police uniform, armed with a firearm, got out of the vehicle,” says Mohlala.
“The man introduced himself as a constable from the Tshwane Metropolitan Police. The officers asked the two other occupants to also get out of the car. That’s when the driver, in plain clothes, but also armed with a handgun, got out of the car. He could not have the firearms license or the permit to carry a firearm
possess, do not show.”
A third occupant got out of the car and was also dressed in a Tshwane Metropolitan Police uniform. He was also armed.
“When the officers asked him if he was also a member of the Tshwane Metro Police, he denied that he had borrowed the uniform from his partner.”
Upon further investigation, it was revealed that the vehicle they were using had apparently been hijacked in Daveyton. The police also found jamming devices in their possession.
When the police questioned the suspects, it was determined that there was another car in the area that sped away when they realized that their team members were in the soup. Their motive – that they wanted to hijack the truck – was exposed.
The three were arrested and charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition, possession of signal jamming devices, possession of a stolen vehicle and impersonation of a police officer.
They are expected to appear in the eMalahleni Magistrates Court today.
Lt. Gen. Semakaleng Daphney, the provincial police commissioner in Mpumalanga, welcomed the arrest and admonished police officers not to be guilty of criminal activities.
“It’s really frustrating when some of our officers are the ones working against us. It is really unacceptable that a metro police member can leave his municipality’s jurisdiction, cross the provincial border to commit crime in Mpumalanga,” said Daphney.
