Members of the Boksburg SAPS detective branch believe they have made a major breakthrough in the spate of house robberies committed in different parts of their policing precinct recently.
Following an investigation and following up on some leads and available evidence, Det Sgt Booysen and Det Const Chauke arrested a 35-year-old Witfield man believed to be part of a gang responsible for the series of home invasions in Boksburg.
The suspect was also allegedly found in possession of goods police believe were stolen in recent house robberies. These goods included cameras and a pricey wrist watch.
He was charged with house robbery and possession of suspected stolen goods. Furthermore, the police linked the suspect to a number of robberies reported in Parklands Estate and surrounding areas.
The latest victims of the house robberies gang are residents of Parklands Estate. Authorities had hoped the arrest of the man would mean uncovering an alleged organised crime ring in which a group of robbers invaded several homes and robbed the victims of thousands of rands worth of valuable goods.
However, that was seemingly not the case, as the prosecutors reportedly declined to place the case on the court roll, citing lack of evidence to link the suspect to the crimes.
The charges against the suspect were overturned on some legal technicalities and he was then set free.
- Cellphone call leads to arrest of house robbery suspect
According to the Boksburg SAPS spokesperson, Const Ntsako Ledwaba, the suspect was arrested in his home in Witfield. This was after one of the suspects who robbed a family in their home in Parklands Estate used the victim’s cellphone to call the now arrested man to come and collect the loot from the robbery scene.
“Investigations revealed that during the robbery, the arrested man received a call from the victim’s cellphone number which was being used by one of the robbers asking him to come to the scene to provide transport for the stolen goods. “Evidence also revealed that he indeed arrived on the scene, driving in a blue Golf immediately after the call was made.
“The detectives alleged that the suspect told them that he didn’t participate in the robbery per se, but was only asked to come and collect the goods,” explained Ledwaba.
The matter was then taken to court where the man was supposed to appear before the magistrate on March 13, facing a number of charges. This, however, didn’t happen because the prosecutors felt that the available evidence was not enough to secure a conviction.
- House break-ins
The Boksburg police have for the past couple of years been battling the plague of robbery and house break-ins in their precinct where at least three cases are reported per day.
During the 2018/19 financial year, the Boksburg policing precinct saw the highest number of robberies at residential premises compared to the other police stations in Boksburg.
They recorded 101 cases, up by 34.7 per cent from the 75 cases reported the previous year. The area had been continuing its trend of increasing the number of robberies at residential areas from the 20 cases reported during the 2011/12 year. It saw a slight decrease in 2016/17 and started to climb again in 2017/18.
