Blitz rattles early morning peace

‘Saxonwold shebeen’ neighbours surprised

A group of about 20 Hawks investigators and SAPS national intervention unit members met at its offices in Silverton, Pretoria, at the crack of dawn to hatch a plan for the day before heading to Saxonwold.

The officers – in a convoy of marked vehicles armed with rifles, with some in combat gear including helmets – arrived in Johannesburg yesterday like a gale-force wind.

They descended on the Anglo-Saxon-themed streets of the leafy Johannesburg suburb where the controversial Gupta family live and took charge of their compound for about an hour.

At 7am, the street leading to the Guptas’ main entrance had been blockaded with vehicles.

It was a spectacle for some locals out on morning jogs or walking their dogs when they curiously observed commotion at the gate of a property scornfully referred to as the ‘Saxonwold shebeen’.

Some neighbours, however, were only woken up by police sirens as the vehicles left the scene after some arrests were made of those allegedly involved in wrongdoing.

The infamous compound, on Saxonwold Drive, boasts security features such as CCTV cameras and its entrances are manned by security guards; but the elite crime-busting unit stormed up the driveway and took charge.

The suburb, which flanks the suburbs of Houghton and Killarney, has property prices averaging in excess of R6-million and is considered one of the city’s smart addresses.

The early morning blitz rattled the usual humdrum as the Hawks finally acted on those suspected of looting more than R200-million in the controversial Free State’s Estina dairy farm project in Vrede.

Pop Motsisi, from nearby Killarney, was among residents who joined a large media contingent gathered outside the compound throughout the day yesterday.

“It’s a good sign that the Hawks are here but it’s really long overdue,” he said. There’s no joy in this really, it’s just that it needs to be done.”

Two arrests were apparently made at the home while another suspect was suspected to have either escaped or hidden on the huge property adjacent to the Museum of Military History.

At 8am, a property linked to the Guptas in Bedfordview had been swooped on.

Five suspects were expected to appear in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court today.