Pretoria - Ten suspects arrested in connection with a robbery at a Lephalale filling station and a vehicle hijacking are to appear in court in January, said Limpopo police.
According to Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi, four of the suspects were arrested in Limpopo while the other six were arrested in Soshanguve, north of Pretoria, after the incident that took place in November.
"The suspects robbed the filling station of a considerable amount of money and the hijacked the vehicle of an innocent bystander to flee from the scene. The vehicle was later found abandoned from where the suspects then fled in their getaway car," he said on Thursday.
The first four suspects were arrested on 30 November, while the other six were arrested on 20 December.
Four unlicensed 9mm pistols believed to have been used during the armed robbery were recovered. Their serial numbers had been filed off.
The group will apply for bail in the Lephalale Magistrates' Court on 13 January.
The group of 10 forms part of over 203 arrests of the most wanted suspects.
"These suspects are only a small part of the 203 suspects arrested believed to have been involved in the trio of crimes consisting of armed robberies with a firearm and robberies at homes or businesses," Mulaudzi said.
A total of 100 suspects were arrested for committing robberies at businesses in Mankweng, Polokwane, Thohoyandou, Lephalale, Malamulele and various other towns in Limpopo.
In most of these cases, spaza shops or general dealers in villages were the targets.
Meanwhile, 53 suspects were arrested for committing house robberies, 38 for armed robberies and 12 suspects for the hijacking of vehicles or trucks.
Twenty-four unlicensed firearms and 36 pieces of ammunition were recovered from the suspects during the arrests. Two suspected stolen vehicles were also confiscated as well as nine cell phones.
"These criminals deserve to be in jail. Our efforts are still continuing since there are others we are still pursuing. They can run but they cannot hide," warned Limpopo Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Simon Mpembe. - SANews.gov.za
