Cops arrest gunmen who tried to hijack motorist at a filling station

Two men have been arrested in the Joburg CBD after attempting to hijack a motorist at a filling station. Picture: SAPS

Two men have been arrested in the Joburg CBD after attempting to hijack a motorist at a filling station. Picture: SAPS

Published Feb 10, 2021

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Johannesburg - Police from the Johannesburg Central Police Station arrested two men aged 37 and 41 for attempted hijacking and the possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.

The two were nabbed along Main Street in the Joburg CBD on Tuesday afternoon.

Police spokesperson Captain Xoli Mbele said the pair was arrested afternoon after trying to hijack a driver who was refuelling his car.

“It is alleged that suspects attempted to hijack a 34-year-old male driving a blue Kia. The victim was at a garage corner Mooi and Main Street filling up petrol when he was confronted by two suspects,” said Mbele.

“They pushed away a petrol attendant and one of them (hijackers) showed him a firearm while his accomplice tried to grab the key from the ignition. The (car owner) drove away at high speed and came to the police station to report the incident.

”The Intelligence (unit) gathered information from the ground and it was operationalised.”

The pair was intercepted by police while walking on the street.

“The police recovered an unlicensed firearm and ammunition from them. The firearm will be sent to ballistic testing to ascertain if it was used in the commission of other serious and violent crimes,” said Mbele.

Station commander at Johannesburg Central police station Brigadier Ivan Perumal commended his charges’ “swift response” in apprehending the pair.

“He issued a stern warning that if suspects think of coming to Johannesburg CBD to commit crime, they must think twice because they will end up in custody,” said Mbele.

Last year, the police in Johannesburg Central arrested a 17-year-old boy for possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.

At the time, Mbele said the teenager was subsequently taken to a place of safety “because of his age”.

“Police were busy with their stop-and-search operations when they received information about three suspicious males standing in the above-mentioned streets. They searched them and recovered an unlicensed firearm with no serial number and live rounds from one of the males,” said Mbele.

The teenager told the police that his uncle had given him the firearm.

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