Johannesburg - For six months, a gang has targeted businesses across Johannesburg and Pretoria. Their crimes were quick and non-violent. Then they murdered for the first time.
Vet Dr Freddie Malan was shot in the heart while he grappled for the gun of one of the gang members, who were robbing his practice in Pretoria. He died at the scene.
Now, with what appears to be the gang’s first murder, police have mobilised a task team and a private investigator is on their trail, hoping to catch them before they strike again.
Who they are hunting is an unusual trio, made up of a white woman and two black men.
“It makes them easy to identify, because it is a white woman and two black men, which is something you don’t see every day. It is unusual,” says the private investigator on the case, Mike Bolhuis.
The gang has taken a liking to robbing vet’s practices, but they have also targeted doctor’s rooms, a physiotherapist practice and fast food joints.
They also have a distinct modus operandi. It begins with the woman coming to the business asking to be let in. Sometimes she claims to have a sick pet.
Once the door is open, her accomplices slip in, too. The men then take firearms from her handbag and hold up staff and customers.
The woman then leaves, gets into the car and waits for her accomplices to return, before driving off.
They keep switching cars.
The gang has done this at least 15 times in the past six months.
From CCTV footage, and from descriptions provided by victims, Bolhuis and his team have been able to draw up identikits of the suspects.
The woman has needle tracks on her arm. She also has a distinct mark on her neck.
One of her accomplices is short, while the other is tall.
“They are not stupid. You don’t hear of these robberies everyday, they are meticulously planned. They haven’t drawn attention to themselves, except during the last two robberies,” says Bolhuis.
It was during these robberies that the gang’s behaviour changed. During their second-last known robbery, they assaulted one of their victims in Sinoville, Pretoria.
Then they shot dead Dr Malan.
“Their aggression levels have definitely increased. From committing normal robberies, to robberies with a gun, to a violent robbery and then the shooting,” says Bolhuis.
On January 31, the female suspect came to Malan’s practice, Jakaranda Animal Hospital, claiming she had a sick cat that needed to be treated.
Bolhuis’s team have compiled a report of what happened next.
Malan was in the reception area, and began arguing with one of the men who came in with the woman.
Witnesses described the man as being short.
A scuffle broke out and Malan was shot.
The gang made off with a cellphone, a cordless phone and R900 in cash.
“In my opinion, they are going to do one or two things, now that they are being sought, says Bolhuis.
“They might break up and go underground. Or they will carry on.”
Bolhuis believes it will be a matter of time before they are caught.
“They have been lucky, but their luck is going to run out. We are going to catch them.”
If anyone has information about the gang, they can contact Bolhuis at 0824476116.