SAPS closes in on gang

In order to help investigators link the four men arrested in the early hours of Thursday morning to other cases, several victims of house robberies in Bedfordview have volunteered to participate in an ID parade.

The arrests came after the SAPS received a tip off last night.

According to the Provincial SAPS spokesperson, Colonel Katlego Mogale, the detective unit of the Bedfordview SAPS, officers from the Organised Crime Unit as well as the Crime Intelligence Unit and the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD), conducted an operation through the night to apprehend the suspects.

The gang has been linked to the recent house robbery that took place on Monday at a complex along Lavin Road.

Col Mogale said the suspects were nabbed individually.

“One suspect was arrested in Alexandra, another in Norkem Park. The third was nabbed in Centurion and the fourth in Ga-Rankuwa,” said Col Mogale.

She added that a shootout ensued before police officers could arrest the fourth suspect, who was injured and is under police guard at the Ga-Rankuwa Hospital.

One of the suspects was found with a Ford Ranger which, according to Col Mogale, was stolen in Brooklyn, Pretoria.

A number of cars belonging to the suspects have been linked to other crimes in Bedfordview.

“These include a white Audi S3, a white Ford ST which was fitted with blue lights, a black Mercedes Benz, a blue VW Golf 7R and the Hyundai H-1 left at the scene last Monday,” added Col Mogale.

During Monday’s robbery, the men tied up two domestic workers who were in the house with two, three-year-old children.

The Bedfordview SAPS spokesperson, Sergeant Mduduzi Nhlabathi, said when the SAPS arrived at the scene, they were told the suspects had jumped over the fence into another property.

“The suspects then hijacked a Mercedes Benz sedan on Allen Road. When they tried to leave the enclosed area, they were met by the SAPS and a shootout ensued. One of the officers shot and injured one of the suspects,” said Sgt Nhlabathi.

The hijacked car was, according to the SAPS, later found at the intersection of First Avenue and Linksfield Road in Edenvale. An AK47 rifle was also found.

According to Sgt Nhlabathi, after abandoning the sedan, the suspects then hijacked a BMW X5 which was later found at the corner of 8th Street and Louis Botha Avenue in Orange Grove.

Three of the four men are facing charges ranging from house robbery, hijacking, armed robbery of motor vehicles and attempted murder of a police officer.

The suspects are aged between 35 and 40 years old.

Some of the items recovered from the suspects included guns, jewellery (including Rolex watches), laptops, cellular phones, wallets, tablet devices, televisions and other household items.

Residents, who did not want to be named for their safety, said they were relieved there was finally a breakthrough.

“We have lived in fear for long enough. It has to stop. What is the point of living in a multi-million Rand house when you sleep with one eye open, waiting for criminals to collect the belongings you work hard for?” asked the woman.

Another resident, whose house was recently hit by robbers, said he would be more than happy to participate in the ID parade.

“The more victims who come forward to identify their belongings from the goods recovered, and as soon as people come forward to identify whether or not they were robbed by the same gang, the better and stronger the case will be,” added the man.

The suspects are due to appear at the Germiston Magistrate’s Court on Monday.