Members of the SAPS Nebo Tracking Team made a major breakthrough when they re-arrested Limpopo’s most wanted suspect in Jane Furse, Sekhukhune District.
The arrest happened on Friday, 14 April 2023 when Lesley Chuenyane was arrested after escaping from police custody in 2018. He was being transported to prison in Witbank, Mpumalanga province.
MOST WANTED SUSPECT RE-ARRESTED
Chuenyane was first arrested in 2018 after he was linked to four counts of rape committed in Nebo policing area. The 29-year-old was positively linked with the cases through forensic evidence and his victims were between 20 and 30 years of age.
On that day, a group of awaiting trial prisoners allegedly cut through the burglar window of a police van after it stopped at Laersdrift. The other suspects were re-arrested shortly after the incident with the assistance of the local farmers. But Chuenyane managed to escape and has been on the run since.
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It is believed the suspect went on and committed serious crimes at Nebo policing area from 2018 until this year. This includes robberies and hijacking. He was positively linked to the robbery that took place at Nebo Traffic Department. Two security guards were allegedly robbed of their service firearms.
One of the firearms was recovered at the suspect’s homestead in Nebo after police were tipped off about its existence. The suspect alleged he accosted yet two other security officers at Phokwane Clinic. He robbed them of their belongings including cellphones.
The suspect was also linked to an incident in which a traffic officer hijacked his private motor vehicle at gunpoint. The stolen VW Polo motor vehicle was later recovered after the suspect abandoned it when he was cornered by the police. The suspect also further robbed a female victim of her belongings at gunpoint. The woman is reportedly his former classmate.
The suspect’s reign of terror ended when the members of this task team pounced on him at a rented room in Jane Furse on Friday. He is facing over 10 charges ranging from rape, carjacking and robbery.
