A family vehicle that was reportedly stolen during a house robbery in Kanyamazane, in the early hours of Wednesday was found abandoned along the Pienaar main road shortly after it was taken.
The robbery incident happened at around 4am, according to Mpumalanga provincial police spokesperson, Colonel Donald Mdhluli.
“According to information, a mother, with her children, was asleep when she was awakened by a strange noise in the house. It came as a shock when she saw two males armed with firearms and their faces covered with balaclavas inside the house,” he said.
The intruders then demanded cash and instructed the family members to lie down before the criminals fled the scene with the family's BMW sedan.
After the assailants left, the victim members managed to summon assistance from their neighbours.
“The incident was reported to the police but later, the vehicle was found deserted along the main road in Pienaar. Police are working hard to bring the perpetrators to book,” said Mdhluli.
Meanwhile, acting provincial commissioner of police in Mpumalanga, Major General Zeph Mkhwanazi, has reassured members of the public that police will work around the clock to ensure that the criminals are hunted down and apprehended.
“We trust that members of the public with valuable information will come on board so that these perpetrators do not prey on other victims. We will do all our best to ensure that justice is served for the affected family," he said.
In July, IOL reported that a white BMW 4 series, which was hijacked in Delmas, Mpumalanga, was recovered in Benoni, Ekurhuleni.
At the time, spokesperson for the Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD), Lieutenant Colonel Kelebogile Thepa said the owner of the German sedan arrived at the scene where the car was recovered, and he opted not to open a case.
“The Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department’s Bronberg special operations officers recovered a reported robbed/hijacked BMW sedan, which was left abandoned in the Benoni area,” said Thepa.
“During the crime prevention operation, officers received intelligence from a well-known private vehicle tracking company, about the BMW in question, which was hijacked in the Delmas area. Law enforcers responded and a lookout was circulated.”
Thepa said coordinates on the vehicle’s location, supplied by the vehicle tracking company, led officers to an address in Ekurhuleni, at the intersection of Woburn and Tom Jones roads, where the sought BMW 4 series was found.
IOL