The Douglasdale police recently had a successful conviction after the two accused, Beza Harris and his accomplice Oscar Ncube, were both sentenced to an effective 10-years’ imprisonment for possession of suspected stolen property and being illegal immigrants.
According to the head of communication for the Douglasdale Police Station, Captain Mpho Tshetlhane, the sentence comes after the gardener, Harris took part in the planning and execution of the house robbery. “This is when the suspects stole a stash of coins including the Mandela R5 coins worth R5 000. The incident took place on 11 September last year at about 9am at a house in Norscot where Harris was working as a gardener.”
Tshetlhane added that Harris confessed to having opened the garage door while pretending to be busy with the lawn mower to enable his accomplice to enter the house. “They then staged a scene where Ncube pointed a firearm at Harris and pushed him into the kitchen where the domestic worker was busy with her house chores. Ncube then asked the domestic worker and Harris where the bedroom and the safe were. The domestic worker replied that she didn’t know and Ncube pushed her and Harris into their employer’s office where he tied the domestic worker with an electric wire.”
Harris’ and his accomplice ransacked the house and took a plastic bag full of coins, house keys and remote control before calling two other friends to come and pick them up with a bakkie.
Tshetlhane said,”They then fled the scene. The domestic worker phoned her employer who informed the police. Intensive police investigation led to two different houses belonging to the suspects in Diepsloot where some of the coins were recovered.”
She added that the two were arrested and further investigation by the police revealed that Harris and Ncube were the masterminds behind the house robbery. “They were both sentenced by the Randburg Magistrates’ Court to 10 years’ imprisonment for possession of suspected stolen property and an additional three months for being illegal immigrants. Their sentences will run concurrently and they will be deported to their countries immediately after serving their sentences.”
She concluded that the sentence imposed on the two accused is an indication that the police will leave no stone unturned to eradicate criminal activities in our area.
“We applaud the hard work and determination by the investigating officer Sergeant Tankiso Madlebe and we also advise community members to verify and check their employees’ identity documents before hiring them as this will help eliminate unforeseen circumstances.”
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