Tuesday, 19 July 2011

‘I have a gun...’

‘I have a gun and I will take your life’. These were the chilling words directed at the receptionist at Imperial Nissan Zululand in Empangeni when two Black men held up the dealership at gunpoint early on Friday morning.
This was the latest in a spate of armed robberies that have plagued businesses in Empangeni over the past few months. The men walked into the dealership at approximately 8am under the guise of being customers, each holding car parts. They were directed to the parts division, but instead of heading off, placed a gun concealed with a magazine on the reception counter, telling the receptionist they wanted money. ‘They took the money and then started scratching around on my desk to see if there was any more, but people started coming into the showroom arriving for work and they decided to leave,’ said the shaken victim. The men then jumped into a silver Corsa bakkie driven by a third Black man and sped off. At this point fellow staff members had been alerted to the robbery and contacted the police, while two others pursued the getaway vehicle.

Quick reaction
The Empangeni police responded extremely quickly once the incident was reported and tracked down a silver Corsa bakkie with identical number plates in Union Street only minutes after the robbery. It was then discovered, however, that the number plates of the getaway vehicle were fake, and the driver of the vehicle stopped by the police had nothing to do with the incident. The getaway vehicle was later recovered in cane fields in Mevamhlophe, but the suspects are still at large.