The Makhado police are searching for a group of armed suspects following a daring daylight robbery along the Louis Trichardt/Thohoyandou road this afternoon.
The incident occurred shortly before 13:00. A businessman from Thohoyandou, Mr Soeb Patel, was en route to Louis Trichardt when an unknown number of suspects in three vehicles, namely a BMW X5, Mercedes and Ford Ranger, chased him down.
Near the turn-off to the Albasini Dam, the suspects opened fire on Patel and forced him off the road. Preliminary investigations on the scene revealed that a total of three shots were fired on Patel's vehicle. One of the bullets hit Patel in his lower right leg. After Patel was forced off the road, the suspects managed to force open his vehicle and took-off with an undisclosed amount of cash via the dirt road that leads to Elim.
When police and medical staff arrived at the scene, Mr Patel was immediately rushed to the MediClinic in Polokwane for treatment. His family later confirmed to the newspaper that he was not in any immediate danger.
The police have since opened a case of robbery with aggravating circumstances and investigations are continuing.