Cape Town - Three suspected hijackers will appear in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on Friday after they crashed their stolen car while trying to flee from cops.
According to a source, the suspects stole a bakkie in Rondebosch in October and on Tuesday returned to the same area in the stolen vehicle to rob houses, but were caught by Metro Police.
“Those guys stole a silver Opel Corsa bakkie at a school in Rondebosch in October and it was loaded onto the camera network,” says the source.
“On Tuesday at about 11 pm, they came back to the same area with the same stolen car and the same licence plates and were picked up by the cameras.
“The cops chased them and they refused to stop and then they crashed their car.”
Metro Police spokeswoman Sergeant Ruth Solomons says just after 11 pm, officers on patrol in Rondebosch were notified that a stolen Corsa bakkie had been detected by licence plate recognition cameras.
“The vehicle had been stolen at a school in the area,” she confirms.
“They spotted the vehicle at the corner of Main and Belmont roads, but the driver refused to stop and sped off.
“The ensuing chase ended when the driver crashed at the corner of Klipper Road and Newlands Avenue.”
She says during a search of the bakkie, officers found two fake firearms, housebreaking tools, ATM cards, an identity document and a small quantity of tik, Mandrax and dagga.
“The suspects, aged 27, 36 and 46, were arrested on a range of charges and detained at Rondebosch Police Station.”
The source says among the items recovered were wallets, a mask and a car remote jammer.
“There were two guys from Heideveld and the third guy lives in Rondebosch. They also found two wallets, but it is not clear how or where the suspects got that stuff and whether they broke into cars on the night.”
Police spokesman Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi says the three will appear on charges of possession of a stolen motor vehicle, presumably stolen property, drugs, housebreaking implements and an imitation firearm as well as reckless and negligent driving.