Tracker and ‘Wolf’ the German Shepherd track down killer suspect

Vehicle tracking company, Tracker, and Wolf, the SAPS Durban South Dog Unit’s German Shepherd, double-teamed in the early hours of this morning (April 1, 2009) to track down a suspect in a brutal hijacking murder case that took place shortly before midnight in Inanda, KwaZulu Natal.

The drama began at approximately 22h30 last night when a woman and her male passenger were allegedly attacked by four armed men after they had stopped their vehicle at a stop street in Inanda. It’s alleged that at least two of the men immediately opened fire on the vehicle, seriously injuring the female driver and killing the male passenger.

The men then pulled the badly injured driver out the vehicle and drove off, before stopping a short distance down the road to dump the deceased man’s body on the side of the road.

On arrival at the scene, the police then contacted Tracker to activate the tracking unit in the vehicle.

“Within minutes both Tracker, the Durban Metro Police and the SAPS Montclair Crime Prevention Unit tracked the vehicle, a Toyota Hilux, to a dark and secluded section of Umlazi where they found the car parked outside a house. Seeing the crews arrive, the suspects in the vehicle then fled on foot,” says Gareth Crocker, Tracker’s Communications Manager.

“The crews managed to block off the area and called in the SAPS Durban South Dog Unit where 'Wolf', a German Shepherd, was taken to the vehicle to pick up a scent. The dog then quickly tracked down one of the suspects hiding under a bush only a few hundred yards away from the vehicle,” says Crocker.

The man has been taken into custody and police are searching for the remaining suspects.

“We are shocked and saddened by both the violent and senseless nature of the attack and our thoughts and prayers are with both families. We are, however, very proud that our technology has contributed to an arrest in this case and hopefully will result in all four suspects soon being apprehended. Tracker has offered trauma counseling to the affected family members and would like to again praise the police for their swift actions,’ Crocker added.

Tracker is also full of praise for Wolf and the many other canine officers serving in the SAPS.

“We work very closely with the various SAPS Dog Units around the country and cannot speak highly enough of these officers and their canine partners who so often help track and bring down dangerous suspects. They are doing invaluable work in the fight against crime in South Africa and we are honoured to work side-by-side with them,” concludes Crocker.

Tracker’s partnership with the SAPS has resulted in almost 45 000 vehicle recoveries which has led to some 8000 arrests - the equivalent of a large South African prison.