The SAPS Airwing helicopter utilised to search for a suspect responsible for truck jacking yielded impressive results when police arrested a 37-year-old male after a reported hijacking in Sherwood today 08 August 2024.
This followed after a truck was busy doing delivery at a liquor outlet in Kei Street, Sherwood at about 08:15 when two unknown armed male suspects approached and forced them out of the truck into a white Toyota Quantum minibus. They then drove with two victims (driver and passenger) aged 36 and 39 years to Walmer where they were left in the bushes close to a graveyard and they alerted SAPS Walmer who then searched the hijacked truck.
A short while later, at about 09:40, the SAPS Airwing helicopter that was utilised in searching for the hijacked truck, spotted the truck driving on the R334 between Motherwell and Kariega (direction of Kariega). After circling the truck, it stopped on the side of the road and two male suspects jumped out and fled into very dense bushes on the side of the road. Various SAPS members and security officials responded to the backup call, and the 37-year-old suspect was soon spotted by the pilot and the ground forces zoomed in on him. Members of the local neighbourhood watch apprehended the suspect assisted by members of a security company. He was formally arrested by SAPS Kariega members and a jamming device was found in his possession and was confiscated by police.
The SAPS Nelson Mandela Bay District Commander, Major General Vuyisile Ncata expressed his gratitude towards the good working relationship between SAPS and the external roleplayers who took part in the truck recovery. “We will continue to keep a zero tolerance towards criminals engaging in violent crimes using firearms as the tools of their trade. I also wish for the bonds we have with local securities and neighbourhood watches to be strengthened. Together we can do more”, he concluded.
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