Hijacking ring busted

2003-07-23 17:06

Tisha Steyn

Cape Town - Police have arrested 12 armed robbers believed to be part of a syndicate crime ring that were involved in nine incidents of hijacking, armed robbery, attempted murder and murder along Potsdam Road and the N7 to Malmesbury.

Five suspects were arrested at 05:00 on Wednesday in the Du Noon and Doornbach informal settlements next to Killarney, Inspector Riaan Pohl of the Bellville serious violent crime unit told News24 on Wednesday.

Seven more suspects were arrested in the same area at 11:00 on Wednesday after a shootout in which a Table View policeman died.

A robbery at Atlantis Standard Bank early on Wednesday morning brought the final breakthrough.

Atlantis police alerted Table View police, who were still at Du Noon and Doornbach informal settlements after their early morning raid, of the robbery.

Police put up roadblocks at the corner of Potsdam and Contermanskloof roads about one kilometer from the two settlements.

A Venture fitting the description of the getaway car was stopped. Insp Leslie Cilliers, 37, of Table View approached the vehicle and asked to see a driver's licence.

The driver produced an ID, and as Cilliers walked back to his service vehicle parked behind the Venture, a passenger in the Venture opened fire on him with an AK-47. Cilliers was hit in the chest and died.

Seven armed men jumped out of the vehicle and ran away, taking cover in the veld on both sides of Contermanskloof road.

In the ensuing chase police opened fire on the fleeing suspects, who returned fire. Two suspects were wounded.

Emergency services rushed to the scene, and a fixed wing plane and helicopter were called in to search for the suspects in the wooded areas and wheat fields next to Contermanskloof road.

By 14:00, all the suspects had been rounded up. AK-47s and handguns, as well as an undisclosed amount of money, were retrieved.

Inspector Cilliers, who had been working at Table View police station for several years, was divorced about four years ago. He leaves a teenage daughter.

- News24