Police Vehicle Attacked After AK-47 Seizure In Cato Manor As Officers Escape Alleged Cash-Robbery Plot
A routine stop-and-search in Cato Manor turned into a full-blown highway ambush on Monday night, with police coming under heavy gunfire from two vehicles – and the two suspects sitting in the back of the police van ending up in hospital with bullet wounds.
Provincial police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said officers were busy with routine crime prevention and stop-and-search duties when they spotted a silver Toyota Etios parked at the Bonela sports field along Raymond Road.
"Police approached the vehicle, and they found two occupants inside the vehicle."
"A subsequent search of the vehicle led to the recovery of an AK-47 assault rifle and four fully loaded magazines."
The two men were arrested on the spot.
The warning from the back seat
Things took a turn while officers were driving down Dunbar Road towards the police station to formally charge the pair.
"When police were driving on Dunbar Road towards a police station to formally charge the suspects, they were followed by two vehicles, a white Toyota Double Cab and a white Toyota Corolla Cross."
"The arrested suspects warned police officers to drive off because the occupants of those vehicles were going to shoot at them."
According to Netshiunda, the suspects told officers they had been sitting at that sports field waiting for those very same vehicles – which were supposedly delivering a second AK-47 for a cash-in-transit robbery planned for Tuesday, 25 August.
"Heavy gunfire"
"Police indeed sped off but found themselves under heavy gunfire from the occupants of the two vehicles."
"The presence of several members of the public prevented police from returning fire to avoid calamity; instead, police drove tactically until they found refuge at a police station."
In the chaos, it was the two arrested men who caught the bullets. Netshiunda said they sustained gunshot wounds and were rushed to hospital, where they are recovering under police guard.
A manhunt is now under way for the occupants of the Double Cab and the Corolla Cross.
Anyone with information about the whereabouts of the suspects is urged to contact their nearest police station or the Crime Stop number 08600 10111.
