Pretoria – Alleged robbers, Siyanda Junior Dlamini, 37, and Manqoba Mavuka, 42, have appeared before the Orlando and Rustenburg Magistrate’s Court, facing charges of armed robbery with aggravating circumstances, possession of ammunition and unlicensed firearms.
The duo was arrested following investigations into a cash-in-transit robbery that took place on June 6 in Boitekong, according to North West spokesperson for the Hawks, Captain Tlangelani Rikhotso.
“It is alleged that on Monday, two G4S security officers collected money from several shops at Boitekong mall and drove off in their armoured vehicle when they were suddenly rammed into by a vehicle on the R510 four way stop,” Rikhotso said.
She said an unknown number of assailants allegedly started shooting at the G4S armoured vehicle with rifles and disarmed the security officers of their 9mm pistols.
“The suspects then allegedly bombed the AV (armoured vehicle) and took an undisclosed amount of money and fled the scene in multiple vehicles,” Rikhotso said.
A multi-disciplinary team consisting of the Hawks’ serious organised crime investigation units in West Rand and Rustenburg, the crime intelligence unit, Gauteng Highway Patrol and the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) operationalised information at hand “and utilised all available resources to trace the suspects”.
“On Tuesday, Dlamini and another male were stopped by JMPD (Joburg Metro Police Department) officers in Soweto. The other man allegedly jumped out of the vehicle and ran off. The vehicle was searched and a Norinco pistol was found leading to the arrest of Dlamini,” Rikhotso said.
Shortly after, the man who ran off from JMPD officers returned and allegedly started shooting at the officers, who also returned fire. He fled the scene again.
Mavuka was traced and arrested in Tlhabane where he was found in possession of a traffic officers’ uniform, a .38 revolver and a .303 rifle.
“The case against Dlamini was postponed to 14 June 2022 for formal bail application. Meanwhile, Mavuka was released on R10 000 bail and the matter was postponed to 30 November 2022 for further investigation,” Rikhotso said.
“The provincial head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) in North West, Major-General Patrick Mbotho lauded the team for the swift arrest and encouraged them not to stop now as there are still more suspects on the loose.”
IOL