A 34-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a house robbery, rape and carjacking in Mavambe Kingsview village outside Malamulele in June.
The suspect was arrested on Wednesday, 1 July, during an intelligence-driven operation by detectives from Thohoyandou and Malamulele. Police said information had led officers to a hideout in Ha-Mphego village in the Sibasa policing area, where the suspect was found and arrested.
He is expected to appear in the Malamulele Magistrate's Court today (3 July) on charges of house robbery, rape and carjacking.
The arrest follows an earlier operation on 19 June, during which detectives from Thohoyandou, Giyani and Malamulele arrested a 27-year-old suspect who was allegedly found in possession of property matching items stolen during the robbery. Police said three other suspects escaped during that operation.
Officers recovered a substantial amount of suspected stolen property, including school bags, footwear, two solar inverters, a Huawei device, an identity document, a driver's licence, two tyres, a plasma television, and a gold Toyota Etios, along with its spare wheel, radio and battery.
Police also recovered a white VW Polo that had allegedly been hijacked and later abandoned in Mavambe village.
The operation was later extended to Maniini and Ha-Mphego villages in an effort to trace the remaining suspects. Although no further arrests were made, police searched a house in Ha-Mphego village and recovered a flat-screen television, a pressure cooker, a speaker, and two travel bags containing clothing.
Police said investigations are continuing and efforts to locate the remaining suspects remain under way.