Gardener an accomplice to house robbery
It is alleged the suspectes were previously involved in a business robbery.
The Cluster Police Trio Task Team apprehend five armed suspects for house robbery in Orange Farm. Picture: Lazarus Dithagiso.
A gardener apparently leaked details to his friends about the operations in the house prior to the robbery in Vaal View, south of Johannesburg, Sedibeng Ster reports.
It is alleged the suspects, aged between 23 and 35, are from Palm Springs and Orange Farm.
It took the Cluster Police Trio Task Team four days to gather evidence, information and to trace the suspects to Orange Farms. They were all arrested at various houses on Saturday.
A follow-up on the stolen vehicle was made by the police that led to Orange Farm.
Police spokesperson Sergeant Gertrude Makhale said among the suspects, one is from Mozambique and another is a Lesotho citizen.
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Makhale said the four suspects were previously involved in a business robbery. Police confiscated four firearms including an R5 rifle, cellphones, a TV set and bottles of whiskey stolen during the break-in. The suspects face charges of house robbery and possession of stolen property.
They appeared briefly in the Vanderbijlpark Magistrates’ Court, and the case was postponed for further investigations and for bail application.
Sedibeng Cluster Commander Major-General Zodwa Molefe applauded the police. The break-in apparently highlights the folly of employing a foreigner over the locals because it is cheaper.
Another recent example of such crimes is a Roshnee break-in that saw a 66-year-old woman shot dead after her foreign former domestic worker leaked household information to her accomplices.
