A quick response by the provincial organised crime investigation unit in Port Elizabeth led to the recovery of R500,000 worth of stolen beer and the arrest of one person.
Police spokesperson Col Priscilla Naidu said it was alleged that at about 4.30am on Friday, the driver of a brewery delivery truck on its way to Cacadu was stopped on the N2 Freeway near Bluewater Bay by two unknown men in a white VW Polo.
She said the truck driver had been held at gunpoint and then driven by one of the men in the Polo to Missionvale, where he was dropped off, while the other assailant drove off with the truck laden with beer.
At about 4.50am, members of the unit received information about a possibly hijacked brewery truck being offloaded at an unused building in Xhama Street, NU 12B, Motherwell.
Members from the organised crime unit, national Intervention unit, tactical response team and crime intelligence had followed up on the information.
Naidu said when the police members arrived in Xhama Street, about 20 to 25 men had run away, and a 28-year-old man had been arrested.
“Police found a jamming device still connected to the battery inside the truck,” Naidu said.
Pallets of beer had already been offloaded from the truck, with some placed inside an abandoned building, Naidu said.
All the pallets of beer, as well as the truck and two trailers, were recovered.
More arrests are expected and the arrested suspect was detained on a charge of vehicle hijacking.
He is expected to appear in the Motherwell Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
HeraldLIVE
Beer worth R500,000 recovered in Motherwell after alleged hijacking
Image: SUPPLIED
A quick response by the provincial organised crime investigation unit in Port Elizabeth led to the recovery of R500,000 worth of stolen beer and the arrest of one person.
Police spokesperson Col Priscilla Naidu said it was alleged that at about 4.30am on Friday, the driver of a brewery delivery truck on its way to Cacadu was stopped on the N2 Freeway near Bluewater Bay by two unknown men in a white VW Polo.
She said the truck driver had been held at gunpoint and then driven by one of the men in the Polo to Missionvale, where he was dropped off, while the other assailant drove off with the truck laden with beer.
At about 4.50am, members of the unit received information about a possibly hijacked brewery truck being offloaded at an unused building in Xhama Street, NU 12B, Motherwell.
Members from the organised crime unit, national Intervention unit, tactical response team and crime intelligence had followed up on the information.
Naidu said when the police members arrived in Xhama Street, about 20 to 25 men had run away, and a 28-year-old man had been arrested.
“Police found a jamming device still connected to the battery inside the truck,” Naidu said.
Pallets of beer had already been offloaded from the truck, with some placed inside an abandoned building, Naidu said.
All the pallets of beer, as well as the truck and two trailers, were recovered.
More arrests are expected and the arrested suspect was detained on a charge of vehicle hijacking.
He is expected to appear in the Motherwell Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
HeraldLIVE
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