Durban — A suspect was arrested and a victim found assaulted and tied up in a vehicle taken in a house robbery.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Nqobile Gwala said that on Friday night uMlazi SAPS detectives had quickly taken action over information about the location of a vehicle, a Toyota Fortuner, that was taken during a house robbery in the Harding area.
Upon approaching the vehicle in the vicinity of KwaMnyandu Mall, an occupant got out of the vehicle from the passenger side and pointed a firearm at the police.
“The members fired a shot, injuring the suspect in the leg. Upon closer inspection of the vehicle, police members found a victim in the vehicle who had been badly assaulted and tied up on the back-seat floor,” Gwala said.
“Two suspects managed to flee, as they were inside the mall making withdrawals from the ATM using the victim’s bank card.
“Various incriminating exhibits – including a firearm with the serial number filed off, ammunition, a toy gun, and suspected stolen property – were recovered,” Gwala said.
She said the suspect was under police guard in hospital.
Gwala added that police investigations were continuing.
Meanwhile, in an unrelated incident, SAPS Sydenham trio task team officers were on duty on Friday at about 1pm when they spotted a suspicious motor vehicle, a red Haval, with a false number plate parked at 45th Cutting Mosque in West Riding.
eThekwini district SAPS spokesperson Captain Carmen Rhynes said the officers were observing the suspicious vehicle when a man suddenly got out of the red Haval and went to another vehicle, a grey Toyota Etios parked nearby, and opened the door using a home-made Allen key.
She said that, when the suspect entered the vehicle and attempted to strip it, members moved in tactically and apprehended him. The suspect was caught trying to steal a car.
Members took the suspect back to the red Haval, inside which two males were sitting.
Rhynes said the vehicle was properly searched, and the suspects were found to be in possession of assorted car-breaking implements and a signal jammer.
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