Police have rounded up a gang of criminals specialising in vehicle hijackings and business and house robberies.
More than 30 firearms and seven vehicles were seized during a sting operation last week.
One of the suspects was arrested yesterday morning while attending a church service in Baduza Street in KwaThema, Springs.
He was in possession of an unlicensed firearm and a stolen cellphone, according to Gauteng police spokesman Lungile Dlamini.
He said the suspect would face charges of possession of an unlicensed firearm and suspected stolen property when he appeared in the KwaThema Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.
The 34 firearms seized and seven vehicles recovered are believed to have been stolen to commit serious and violent crimes.
Dlamini said four of the nine suspects were shot dead during the far-reaching arrests, which began on April 25.
“Another suspect, wanted for serious crimes, was arrested at the Greenstone mall in Edenvale by police doing routine crime prevention on Saturday,” he said.
The suspect was in possession of two unlicensed firearms and a white X5 BMW that was hijacked in Pretoria West.
Dlamini said that on further investigation, it was established that the suspect was out on bail for serious and violent crimes, including a murder case in Tembisa, Ekurhuleni, and a cash-in-transit robbery in Limpopo.
Police have urged the public to report suspicious-looking vehicles and look out for the following:
* Mostly luxury vehicles driving around with three or four men.
* Vehicles with two different registration plates at the back and front or even without registration plates with a group of three to four people (mostly men).
* Unmarked vehicles with blue lights.
* Unknown vehicles parked next to the gates.
* Two or three people posing as employees of certain companies or as job-seekers.
* A group of men wearing heavy clothing.
* People standing aimlessly near financial institutions or ATMs.
The Star