Alleged mugger arrested after shootout

An alleged armed robber was arrested on Friday 20 September on the slopes of a dumping site in Bela-Bela.

The suspect is believed to have mugged a number of people, surprising them as they walked past the dumping site on their way to and from work.

Bela-Bela police acting station commander, Colonel Abel Phetla, said the suspect was targeting people who were going to work in the early hours, especially those heading to the Bela-Mall on the
Waterfront.

The suspect’s modus operandi, Phetla explained, was pouncing on workers and shoppers carrying groceries, robbing them of their belongings.

Two of alleged the victims were women, with one of them pregnant at the time of the robbery.

According to Phetla, a passer-by was going to work when the suspect approached him, asking for a smoke.

The man noticed that the suspect was armed with a knife in his pocket.

“The man then returned to the township after the realization and went and informed Detective Sergeant Mokgabodi Nzotho, who alerted other members of the police who helped track down the suspect.

A shootout ensued as the police chased after the suspect, who fled the scene with gunshot wounds.

Phetla said the police chased after the suspect until he reached the dumping side, where he was cornered and nabbed.

He sustained multiple injuries and was taken to hospital.

Phetla said the suspect is a Zimbabwean national.

— The BEAT