Cape Town – An Eastern Cape man was sentenced in the East London Regional Court on Tuesday for his involvement in the armed robbery of a British American Tobacco (BAT) vehicle.
Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) Captain Yolisa Mgolodela said Deon Manuela Gaca, 27, was sentenced on a charge of armed robbery.
She said Gaca was one of four suspects who robbed a BAT driver of boxes of tobacco he was delivering worth R272 000 in September 2015.
Mgolodela said the suspects were later arrested after the incident and all stood trial. They were convicted and sentenced, except Gaca, who absconded.
She said officers traced Gaca’s whereabouts and he was eventually arrested in Cape Town by the East London Serious Organised Crime Investigation team and was taken back to the Eastern Cape.
Mgolodela said Gaca was remanded in custody for five years – the duration of his trial – after he was deemed a flight risk after his abscondment.
On Tuesday, the court sentenced Gaca to six years’ direct imprisonment and it was also ordered that he was unfit to possess a firearm.
The provincial head of the Hawks, Major-General Obed Mgwenya, lauded the investigating team for ensuring that all the perpetrators involved in the crime were subjected to the hand of the law.
In a separate incident, Mgolodela said Mzimkhula Kana, 34, appeared in the Peddie Magistrate’s Court on charges of murder, attempted murder and armed robbery on Monday.
She said Kana is alleged to have been implicated in an attempt to hijack a delivery truck.
Mgolodela said it is alleged that on March 18, 2021 officers were alerted to suspects travelling in a Quantum minibus taxi and a Ford Ranger who were on their way to hijack a delivery truck that was transporting various items from Gqeberha to East London.
While one suspect was arrested, Siyabonga Heshu, 31, made his court appearance on March 19. Kana was subsequently arrested on Friday, May 21.
The case against Kana has been postponed until Wednesday pending a legal representative to come on board for his case.
African News Agency (ANA)