Pretoria police have shut down a blue-light gang and arrested two Mamelodi police officers following a routine stop-and-search of a vehicle which was found to be illegally fitted with police lights and a siren.
One of the five suspects arrested in the east of Pretoria yesterday was out on bail for murder, while another was recently released from prison after serving time for being in possession of illegal firearms.
The gang is believed to be involved in truck hijacking, armed robberies and ATM bombings. However, the area in which they operate has yet to be determined.
After questioning three suspects stopped on Hans Strijdom Drive, police were led to a block of flats in the Silver Lakes area where two police officers were caught stashing firearms and police equipment into bags.
Police chief General Bheki Cele arrived by helicopter to personally congratulate the officers for the arrests.
"They did a good job. This is good news for us in light of the bad news we have had," he said, referring to the shooting of three police officials in Mpumalanga.
"We look forward to cleaning out criminality. A member of the police that despises the blue must change his uniform to orange."
Cele said further investigation was required, but he was confident more arrests would follow. Hawks boss Lieutenant-General Anwa Dramat was also at the scene, but Cele did all the talking.
A Pretoria News source said at about midday, officers from the rapid response unit spotted a blue BMW parked on the side of Hans Strijdom Drive near the N4 highway interchange.
When the officers approached the vehicle from behind it started to move away, so they pulled it over and questioned its occupants - two men and a woman.
After inspecting the vehicle, they found that the BMW, hijacked in Akasia about a month ago, had been professionally fitted with a police blue light and siren system.
The officers then called in support from the Hawks, but while waiting at the roadside a marked Mamelodi police patrol vehicle arrived on the scene with a female captain and male sergeant. "One of the suspects must have called them to say there was a problem.
"They weren't at the scene for long and they moved off. They realised that they were not going to be able to get their accomplices released," said the source.
The Mamelodi officers drove to the Out of Bounds flat complex, a few kilometres from where the BMW was stopped.
After police questioned the three occupants of the BMW, they were led to the same complex where they found the two officers packing weapons and police equipment into bags.
Hawks spokesman Musa Zondi said police found an R5 assault rifle, three pistols and police uniforms in the flat.
He said equipment and paraphernalia, including stun-grenades and equipment used by the national intervention unit, were also seized. "We found money, number plates, police caps and uniforms," he said.
Zondi confirmed the criminal history of two of the suspects, adding that they would appear in court soon on several charges, including impersonating a police officer and being in possession of stolen vehicle.
Cele, who had flown to the scene from visiting the families of the two police officers and a reservist shot and killed in Mpumalanga, said the police would stop at nothing to bring the murderers to book. "It does not matter if it happens today, tomorrow or the next day, we will find them.
"It was a painful scene to explain to the parents. I will not let the clock slip, we will find them," he said.
