Five suspects between the ages of 20 and 30 are expected to appear in court on Tuesday, 13 September 2022 in Wynberg following their arrest on Saturday afternoon, 10 September 2022, on charges of conspiracy to commit a kidnapping, possession of a prohibited firearm, and ammunition as well as fraud.
The alarm was raised with Lansdowne police on Saturday afternoon by an Ottery businesswoman, a Chinese national, about a vehicle that had been following her since she left her business premises. Police promptly responded and subsequently stopped the vehicle with the five suspects. In their vehicle, they discovered a prohibited firearm whose serial number had been filed off and rounds of ammunition. Upon further searching the vehicle, Lansdowne police also found vehicle license plates that did not match the disk displayed on the vehicle.
As part of ongoing investigations into this case and other similar cases, organised crime detectives are hard at work trying to determine if the arrested suspects can be linked to other crimes.
Communities are urged to report suspicious activity or crime to the police by calling the Crime Stop number 08600 10111. For extortion-related complaints communities are advised to utilise the SAPS Western Cape toll-free number 0800 314444.