Times Of Swaziland: SHOTS FIRED AS THUGS INVADE CTA, ONE ARRESTED

SHOTS FIRED AS THUGS INVADE CTA, ONE ARRESTED
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BY MBONGISENI NDZIMANDZE AND SIBUSISO SHANGE on 22/04/2021 08:16:00


MBABANE - Several gunshots had to be fired by the police to stop fleeing thieves
who were found stealing car parts at the Central Transport Administration (CTA)
Mbabane branch.
Information gathered was to the effect that two men were spotted by a security
guard stationed in one of the government buildings next to CTA, who then alerted
police officers from Mbabane Police Station. The incident occurred in the early
hours of yesterday. When the police arrived on the premises, they found the
suspects at the scene and they ordered them to surrender, but they fled.
According to a witness, the police then fired several warning shots and they
managed to apprehend one of suspects while the other one showed them a clean
pair of heels.
Apprehended
Upon inspection after having apprehended one of the suspects, the police
reportedly found some car parts they suspected to have been removed by the duo
from the parked vehicles at the government garage. The law enforcers also
purportedly found a tool box with spanners, which were said to have been used by
the suspects to strip the car parts. It is unknown if this was a one day job or
the thugs had made this a habit.
“From the look of things, this was an inside job. The suspects seemingly had
information about the security measures and general setup of the depot,”
alleged the impeccable source.  A civil servant stationed at the depot said in
his own assessment, the thugs knew what they wanted. The thugs reportedly did
not have a tough time in gaining entry into the premises as the fencing around
the government garage is porous, while there is hardly any perfect shop-guard to
monitor internal controls of inventory.
Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile
Vilakati confirmed the incident. Vilakati said police had to fire warning shots
to stop the fleeing suspects and one of them was eventually apprehended.  She
highlighted that none of the suspects were injured in the process and that the
one who escaped was still at large. “The suspect who has been arrested is
currently assisting the police in their investigations,” said Vilakati. It was
previously reported by this newspaper that safekeeping measures were so lax at
CTA Mbabane to the point that security guards literally armed themselves with a
knobkerrie (sagila) to protect the government property worth over E0.5 billion.