PORT ELIZABETH - TRUCK CARRYING COPPER WORTH R1.9 MILLION HIJACKED NEAR COEGA AND MAN MURDERED

A 53-year-old Absalom Mnisi was shot and killed last night when a group of about seven (7) suspects hijacked a truck he was driving near Coega, Nelson Mandela Bay.

It is believed that he was flagged down by the suspects wearing reflective jackets and using a white vehicle with a blue light at about 19:00. A motorist passing by spotted the truck and alerted the company to which the truck belongs. The tracking device was activated and the truck recovered by police in Makepeace Crescent in Perseverance.

At about 20:00 an SAPS flying squad vehicle that followed the tracking signal found the White Volvo truck hidden behind a warehouse, and on entering the premises, seven (7) suspects fled from the truck into the warehouse. On searching the warehouse, police managed to arrest five (5) suspects with ages ranging from 27 to 41 years, but the remaining two suspects managed to evade arrest.

The truck and its cargo of almost 23 tonnes of scrap copper (with value of R1, 9 million) and a Mini Cooper vehicle, was recovered and impounded for forensic analysis. On the scene police also found a white Ford Ranger vehicle (rental vehicle), a blue light, a reflective jacket, a large mobile radio frequency/signal blocker and seven (7) cellphones that are believed to have been used during the hijacking by the suspects.

By 09:30 this morning, the body of Mnisi was spotted by a passing motorist on an embankment close to Coega CBD on the N2 freeway and alerted police. He was found with gunshot wounds to his back and neck. Murder and Hijack cases have been opened and is being investigated by the Eastern Cape Provincial Organised Crime Investigation team. Any person that could assist police with this investigation can contact Lt Col Willie Mayi at 082 697 5914.

All five (5) suspects have been charged with possession of stolen property and police will investigate their link and role with the hijacking and murder.