Potchefstroom: In re-assuring the community that the people in the province are and feel safe, police have arrested eight suspects and confiscated various items between Thursday, 21 and Friday, 22 September 2017.
In the first incident on Thursday, 21 September 2017, a man was walking at Block G Itereleng in Hebron when confronted by two suspects, who grabbed him from behind. They pointed him with a firearm. He was then robbed of his wallet and cellular phone. The suspects, fled the scene, but one, 33-year-old, was apprehended by members of the community after the victim screamed for help. The suspect is expected to appear before the Ga-Rankuwa Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, 24 September 2017, for armed robbery.
In another incident at about 09:30 on Friday, 22 September 2017, members of Tactical Response Team (TRT) reacted to a carjacking incident that occurred on the R503 between Coligny and Hartbeesfontein.
It is alleged that one of the suspects’ vehicles, a Mazda bakkie was spotted on the Hartbeesfontein-Klerksdorp Road. The vehicle allegedly sped off and failed to stop when ordered to. The driver had to stop at the entrance of Manzilpark, Klerksdorp due to a deflated tyre that the police shot at. The suspect, 27-years-old, was subsequently arrested.
It is alleged the suspects ordered two men, travelling in a cigarette delivery panel van, to stop and pointed them with firearms. The suspects were driving in two vehicles. The victims were allegedly taken to a dirt road at Geduld, where cigarettes were loaded onto their vehicles. The suspect then fled the scene leaving behind the victims and their vehicle in the bushes.
The police managed during the arrest to recover 17 of the robbed 23 stolen cigarette boxes worth R300 000,00. The suspect is expected to appear in the Hartbeesfontein Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, 26 September 2017 on charges of carjacking and possession of suspected stolen property.
Later the same day, six suspects were apprehended after robbing a tuck-shop in Alabama, Klerksdorp.
It is alleged that the tuck-shop employee was standing behind the counter when pointed with a firearm and ordered to lie down before being tied up with cable ties. The suspects then took cash, cellular phones, groceries and cigarettes, all with an estimated street value of R30 000.00 and fled the scene. The victim was assisted by the tuck-shop owner who responded after hearing the employee screaming for help. The owner of the shop, after untying the victim, chased the suspects with his vehicle. It was in Jouberton that the tuck-shop owner went to the police station to report the incident.
The suspects’ vehicle was later spotted in the Central Business District (CBD) in Klerksdorp at about 13:15. The vehicle was stopped and six suspects aged between 23 and 30 were arrested. It was during the arrest that items such as a BB gun, knives, cash, toiletries, groceries and cellular phones were confiscated. Further investigations revealed that some of the confiscated items were robbed during a business robbery committed in Wolmarransstad the same day.
The suspects will appear in the Klerksdorp Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, 26 September 2017 for Business Robbery. It is suspected that the suspects will be linked to more cases. #TrioCrimes #CrimeMustFall