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Two Pretoria students, who fancied themselves as Formula 1 drivers, were caught after a three-hour game of cat and mouse with police in a high-speed chase in top-of-the-range sports cars.
The two, who are studying at Tshwane University of Technology and Varsity College, were caught after police blocked off several roads in a bid to stop their escape during the early hours on Thursday.
The chase between the Congolese students and police began when the two, who were driving a black Aston Martin Vantage and a silver Mercedes Benz ML63 AMG, were spotted racing each other along Atterbury Road.
The cars are together valued at nearly R4-million.
The two, aged 21 and 22, are the sons of wealthy Congolese business families who are living and working in South Africa.
Police said the chase began when the pair were spotted racing towards Brooklyn along Atterbury Road at more than 160km/h.
A policeman said an alert was put out after the cars, which were "dicing each other", raced through several red traffic lights and past a police patrol van.
Police, suspecting that the cars had been stolen, began looking for the vehicles, closing off roads as they narrowed their search.
When a police patrol spotted the cars driving slowly along Lois Avenue several minutes later the drivers sped off, giving the officers the slip.
As the hunt continued, more and more police joined in and scoured the streets of Pretoria's eastern suburbs.
Another policeman said every time the cars were spotted the drivers managed to evade capture.
The drivers, who had dodged their pursuers for nearly three hours, were eventually caught when members of the Pretoria Flying Squad driving Ford Focus STs spotted the men driving at "breakneck speed" along Kings Highway.
Calling for back-up, the police blocked off the road and forced the suspects to stop.
Brooklyn police station spokeswoman Captain Colette Weilbach said the suspects were immediately arrested and charged with reckless and negligent driving.
She said the men were detained at the Brooklyn police station before they were granted R1 000 bail each.
"The men will appear in the Hatfield Community Court (on Friday)," she said.
The two, who are studying at Tshwane University of Technology and Varsity College, were caught after police blocked off several roads in a bid to stop their escape during the early hours on Thursday.
The chase between the Congolese students and police began when the two, who were driving a black Aston Martin Vantage and a silver Mercedes Benz ML63 AMG, were spotted racing each other along Atterbury Road.
The cars are together valued at nearly R4-million.
The two, aged 21 and 22, are the sons of wealthy Congolese business families who are living and working in South Africa.
Police said the chase began when the pair were spotted racing towards Brooklyn along Atterbury Road at more than 160km/h.
A policeman said an alert was put out after the cars, which were "dicing each other", raced through several red traffic lights and past a police patrol van.
Police, suspecting that the cars had been stolen, began looking for the vehicles, closing off roads as they narrowed their search.
When a police patrol spotted the cars driving slowly along Lois Avenue several minutes later the drivers sped off, giving the officers the slip.
As the hunt continued, more and more police joined in and scoured the streets of Pretoria's eastern suburbs.
Another policeman said every time the cars were spotted the drivers managed to evade capture.
The drivers, who had dodged their pursuers for nearly three hours, were eventually caught when members of the Pretoria Flying Squad driving Ford Focus STs spotted the men driving at "breakneck speed" along Kings Highway.
Calling for back-up, the police blocked off the road and forced the suspects to stop.
Brooklyn police station spokeswoman Captain Colette Weilbach said the suspects were immediately arrested and charged with reckless and negligent driving.
She said the men were detained at the Brooklyn police station before they were granted R1 000 bail each.
"The men will appear in the Hatfield Community Court (on Friday)," she said.
