A DEDICATED team of undercover police officers using their private vehicles swooped on six unsuspecting members of a cigarette-hijacking gang in Quigney and recovered 36 boxes of cigarettes worth more than R500000.
The raid on two Quigney guesthouses on Thursday night lasted into the early hours of yesterday morning and was conducted by members of the East London Tactical Response Team (TRT), Crime Intelligence officers and the members of the Organised Crimes Unit (Hawks).
The suspects were arrested while sleeping at Sesethu Lodge in Fitzpatrick Road and at another unidentified guesthouse in Quigney.
British American Tobacco (BAT), which owns the merchandise, said the officers should be commended for their actions.
Hawks spokesman Captain Paul Ramoloko said the arrest would bring some relief to the tobacco industry in South Africa.
He said two of the arrested suspects were from Queenstown, two from Mthatha and the others from the Western Cape.
The arrest follows three armed robberies involving BAT vehicles on Wednesday and Thursday in Cambridge, Quigney and Beacon Bay where cigarettes valued at more than half a million rand were taken.
The syndicate waited for the BAT driver to enter the shop where he was making a delivery and on returning to the vehicle the gang would hold him up at gunpoint, force him into the passenger seat and drive to a secluded street where they off-loaded the cigarettes into their own bakkie.
The gang’s getaway vehicle, a gold Toyota RunX was circulated and spotted in the East London CBD on Thursday.
A senior arresting officer involved in the operation – who spoke to the Saturday Dispatch on condition of anonymity – said a team of TRT members were dispatched to search for the RunX.
“In East London we have one unmarked (police) vehicle and it is at the garage for repairs,” he said. “The officers used their own private vehicles to search for the getaway car and they found it.”
He said the vehicle was located in Oxford Street outside a takeaway where the suspects had stopped to get something to eat. “The vehicle proceeded to BP garage in Quigney and ended up in Ebuhlanti.
The suspects then left the spot and parked outside the Sesethu Lodge in Quigney where they were booked in,” the officer said. During further investigation the team learned that the stolen cigarettes were being hidden at the lodge.
“The team called for backup from the Organised Crimes Unit and within minutes the guesthouse was surrounded.
“We stormed into the guesthouse, found four suspects and arrested them on the spot. The boxes of cigarettes were found inside the garage of the lodge.”
Lodge owner David Pape said he was woken by police demanding to see people in the guest rooms.
He said he was shocked to learn his garage had been used to store boxes of cigarettes.
“I have to say the police were very professional about the whole thing,” he said.
Pape said four of the suspects had arrived on Monday at his guesthouse looking for accommodation.
Police said the other suspects were arrested at another nearby guesthouse.
The suspect’s vehicles were confiscated in the raid. Ramaloko said the bakkie was stolen in Grahamstown last year.
The men have been charged with armed robbery and possession of stolen property and are due to appear in the East London Magistrate’s Court on Monday. — zwangam@dispatch.co.za
Smoked!
The raid on two Quigney guesthouses on Thursday night lasted into the early hours of yesterday morning and was conducted by members of the East London Tactical Response Team (TRT), Crime Intelligence officers and the members of the Organised Crimes Unit (Hawks).
The suspects were arrested while sleeping at Sesethu Lodge in Fitzpatrick Road and at another unidentified guesthouse in Quigney.
British American Tobacco (BAT), which owns the merchandise, said the officers should be commended for their actions.
Hawks spokesman Captain Paul Ramoloko said the arrest would bring some relief to the tobacco industry in South Africa.
He said two of the arrested suspects were from Queenstown, two from Mthatha and the others from the Western Cape.
The arrest follows three armed robberies involving BAT vehicles on Wednesday and Thursday in Cambridge, Quigney and Beacon Bay where cigarettes valued at more than half a million rand were taken.
The syndicate waited for the BAT driver to enter the shop where he was making a delivery and on returning to the vehicle the gang would hold him up at gunpoint, force him into the passenger seat and drive to a secluded street where they off-loaded the cigarettes into their own bakkie.
The gang’s getaway vehicle, a gold Toyota RunX was circulated and spotted in the East London CBD on Thursday.
A senior arresting officer involved in the operation – who spoke to the Saturday Dispatch on condition of anonymity – said a team of TRT members were dispatched to search for the RunX.
“In East London we have one unmarked (police) vehicle and it is at the garage for repairs,” he said. “The officers used their own private vehicles to search for the getaway car and they found it.”
He said the vehicle was located in Oxford Street outside a takeaway where the suspects had stopped to get something to eat. “The vehicle proceeded to BP garage in Quigney and ended up in Ebuhlanti.
The suspects then left the spot and parked outside the Sesethu Lodge in Quigney where they were booked in,” the officer said. During further investigation the team learned that the stolen cigarettes were being hidden at the lodge.
“The team called for backup from the Organised Crimes Unit and within minutes the guesthouse was surrounded.
“We stormed into the guesthouse, found four suspects and arrested them on the spot. The boxes of cigarettes were found inside the garage of the lodge.”
Lodge owner David Pape said he was woken by police demanding to see people in the guest rooms.
He said he was shocked to learn his garage had been used to store boxes of cigarettes.
“I have to say the police were very professional about the whole thing,” he said.
Pape said four of the suspects had arrived on Monday at his guesthouse looking for accommodation.
Police said the other suspects were arrested at another nearby guesthouse.
The suspect’s vehicles were confiscated in the raid. Ramaloko said the bakkie was stolen in Grahamstown last year.
The men have been charged with armed robbery and possession of stolen property and are due to appear in the East London Magistrate’s Court on Monday. — zwangam@dispatch.co.za
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