Cops nab BAT hijack suspects
Four men who allegedly hijacked a British American Tobacco Company vehicle in Shallcross, were arrested after a car chase and shoot-out.
|||Durban - Police arrested four alleged hijackers after a car chase and shoot-out on Thursday.
The suspects, one of them on bail for hijacking, were apparently prowling the streets of Shallcross in a white Hyundai, which they allegedly hijacked in Chatsworth last month.
Police were in hot pursuit of them after they allegedly hijacked a vehicle transporting cigarettes.
Police spokesman, Major Thulani Zwane, said a VW Caddy, belonging to the British American Tobacco Company, was hijacked in Burlington Road in Shallcross.
The men allegedly transferred the cigarettes into the Hyundai.
Zwane said: “Police heard about the hijacking via the police radio and immediately responded and intercepted the Hyundai.
“The driver of the Hyundai gave police the slip and drove to St Wendolins in Mariannhill. By this time other police units joined in the chase. Malvern police intercepted the vehicle on Ukuthuna Road.”
The Hyundai veered off the road on to the pavement.
A shoot-out ensued.
“The suspects crashed the hijacked vehicle and fled to a nearby house. A suspect sustained a gunshot wound to the leg. The dog unit arrested three suspects inside the house and also seized cartons of cigarettes with an estimated value of R60 000 from the boot of the Hyundai. A Glock pistol was recovered,” Zwane said.
Three suspects, aged between 20 and 25, were taken to hospital. They are under police guard. Another suspect was detained at the police station in Chatsworth.
They are expected to appear in the Chatsworth Magistrate’s Court soon.
The VW Caddy was found abandoned at the side of a road in Shallcross.
Police said the men were involved in a syndicate targeting cigarette dealers.
“A 22-year-old suspect has been arrested previously for carjacking. Two weeks ago, the suspect was released on bail by the Umzinto Magistrate’s Court,” Zwane said.
The recovered firearm will be taken to ballistics to determine if it has been used in other crimes.
zainul.dawood@inl.co.za
Daily News
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