Cape Town - Police arrested five suspects in Schaapkraal, Philippi, who hijacked a truck and cargo with an estimated value of R1 million.
Police spokesperson Wesley Twigg said that in searching further the police recovered a signal jammer and a police blue light that were used by the robbers.
He said the swift response by members of the flying squad led to the arrest of five suspects between the ages of 23 and 46.
Twigg said the police received information about a truck that was being offloaded on a smallholding in Schaapkraal Philippi.
“Once charged the suspects will appear in Athlone Magistrate’s Court to face the charges against them,” he said.
Community Policing Forum (CPF) provincial chairperson Fransina Lukas said: “We are heading towards the festive season and with it comes a lot of crime with the intention of criminals being to get their hands on cash.”
Lukas said the modus operandi of those criminals also becomes more sophisticated. “A big concern to us is the usage of regalia and resources similar to that of the police in committing these crimes.”
She said those operations and modus operandi by criminals will bring about more distrust and suspicion towards the real police and would make it difficult for genuine police officers to do their jobs.
Guy Lamb, a criminologist at Stellenbosch University's political science department, said for a number of years they have seen more highly organised hijacking gangs and groups that have been able to access blue lights. Some have even been able to access police uniforms.
“In some cases, we have seen those blue lights and uniforms coming from the police,” said Lamb. “Some individuals from the police have sold the equipment or uniforms to criminal groups, while blue lights can also be acquired from the market.”