Hijack up in smoke after cops arrest suspects in Motherwell

FOUR suspected robbers believed to have stolen R130 000 worth of cigarettes after hijacking a British American Tobacco transport van in Motherwell yesterday were arrested hours after the theft.

Three men armed with handguns held up the driver of the tobacco transport vehicle at gunpoint when he stopped in Gaba Street shortly before 8am, according to police.

Police spokesman Captain André Beetge said: “The driver was ordered to ride further down the road where he stopped near another getaway vehicle that was parked on the side of the street.”

The robbers loaded the boxes of cigarettes into the getaway vehicle before fleeing in a Ford Ikon.

Beetge said the Ikon was spotted late yesterday morning at a house in Ngwanqa Street, Motherwell.

“Police went into the house and found all the stolen boxes of cigarettes as well as the three suspected robbers and the driver of the Ikon. All four were arrested but the firearms used in the heist were not found.”

Beetge said another two vehicles were also found parked on the premises. “The one vehicle has allegedly been used in a previous heist in the Bay while the other is possibly linked to other crimes. The vehicles are being tested by our forensic experts,” he said.

All four suspects, aged between 22 and 31 years, are due to appear in the Motherwell Magistrate’s Court tomorrow. – Gareth Wilson