Three alleged members of an infamous criminal gang terrorising motorists on the N3 were shot dead on Sunday night during an exchange of gunfire with members of the SA Police Service in Gauteng.
THREE alleged criminals were shot dead on Sunday night during an exchange of gunfire with members of the SA Police Service (SAPS) in Gauteng.
Brigadier Brenda Muridili, the Gauteng police spokesperson, said the three were part of an infamous criminal gangs terrorising motorists on the N3 between Villiers and Heidelberg.
“Information was received during the evening of 28 April 2024, about a gang that allegedly commits blue-light robberies on the N3 between Villiers and Heidelberg using a white Toyota Hilux. A multidisciplinary team was mobilised and traced the suspects to the N3 highway, Grootvlei in Mpumalanga,” said Muridili.
The Toyota Hilux with blue lights was spotted by the police.
“The suspects saw the police and sped away, resulting in a high-speed chase towards Zonkizizwe, in Ekurhuleni. The suspects started shooting at the (police) team and the team retaliated.”
Three suspects were fatally shot and one of the alleged criminals managed to flee the scene on foot.
The police seized two unlicensed firearms and ammunition, blue lights and the suspects’ vehicle, the Toyota Hilux.
“The multidisciplinary team included SAPS national head office counter-intelligence, Secunda crime intelligence, Gauteng tactical response team, Gauteng anti-gang unit, DPC tracking team, Johannesburg K9, CAP specialised operations, Tracker Connect, ICB Insurance Crime Bureau, MZ Werke Security, and Telesure Insurance Investigation,” said Muridili.
She said the SAPS crime scene management team combed the scene for more evidence, while the vehicle was taken to the vehicle crime investigation unit for further analysis.
Last month, a couple told how they were hijacked, stabbed and held for hours until their bank accounts were cleaned out by the notorious blue-light gang terrorising motorists on the N3 near Heidelberg and Vosloorus.
Earlier that day, a doctor travelling from Newcastle to Johannesburg suffered a similar fate.
The gang comprises three bogus policemen and two men dressed as civilians.
At the time, anti-crime activist Yusuf Abramjee supplied the POST with voice notes from the victims, in which they detailed their ordeal.
The gang’s first victim was the well-known doctor who was hijacked near Heidelberg.
He said he unfortunately stopped when a white Toyota double cab, with blue lights pulled up behind him, just after the toll gate.
At the time, the doctor believed the men to be real police officers and did not doubt their credibility.
