Bank customers need to always apply caution when withdrawing a large amount of cash – or face being robbed.
This according to the Johannesburg police following an intelligence operation that saw two suspects arrested for robbing a Soweto woman an undisclosed amount of cash.
The suspects were arrested on the Gordon Road off-ramp in Maraisburg.
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On 6 June, the Johannesburg Crime Intelligence North Cluster police unit received information about a robbery that was about to take place.
The spokesperson for the Johannesburg Flying Squad police, Sergeant Desmond Subramoney, said they immediately acted on it. He said they were informed that two cars, a Mercedes Benz and a Corsa, driven by alleged robbers, would embark on a bank crime spree.
The police then spotted the Mercedes Benz driving towards Soweto but they lost the sight of the car, he said. The robbers apparently went to Diepkloof Square where they robbed a woman of a large amount of money after leaving a bank. “The suspects had a spotter inside the bank to check on people who withdraw large sums of money and notified his accomplices who were sitting in the car outside,” said Subramoney.
“After leaving the bank, the robbers then pounced on this lady threatening her with violence and took her money.”
While the police were still searching for the cars, he said they spotted the Mercedes Benz again and followed it on the N1 highway. “The Corsa was nowhere to be seen and the police decided to act on the Benz and discovered that the car was hijacked in Norkemp Park in Tembisa.
“Later, after questioning the suspects, they revealed that the second car is actually a VW Polo and not a Corsa, and furthermore, they confessed to the crime of robbery in Soweto,” he said.
The suspects were arrested and a manhunt has been launched for the suspects in the Polo who, according to Subramoney, are the ones who robbed the woman.
The two suspects have been charged with possession of a hijacked car and robbery.
Further investigations by the police revealed that they were allegedly on their way to the Sandton area to commit a similar robbery.
Details: Desmond Subramoney 072 676 6661.
