Police dog sniffs out alleged house robber hiding in wardrobe

A KwaZulu-Natal police dog sniffed out an alleged house robber hiding inside a wardrobe after police foiled a house robbery on Wednesday.

The spokesperson of the police in the province, Brigadier Jay Naicker, said that at around 1pm on Wednesday, a domestic helper was allegedly accosted by four armed suspects while she was performing her duties at Rockdale Avenue in Westville, Durban.

Naicker said the suspects, who had firearms, grabbed the victim by her neck and pushed her along the passage.

“Westville police officers together with the K9 Unit immediately responded to the report of a house robbery in progress. As the suspects were busy ransacking the house, they spotted the police vehicle arriving at the house. The men immediately fled the scene in different directions and nothing was taken from the house. The team interviewed the victim, who informed them of what transpired. A search was conducted inside the house with the help of a canine.

“During the search, a 22-year-old suspect was nabbed by a canine while hiding inside a wardrobe in one of the rooms at the home. He was taken to hospital for medical attention where he remains under police guard. The arrested man will appear in court after he is discharged from hospital,” said Naicker.

KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner, Lieutenant General Khombinkosi Jula commended the police officers for their quick response.

“We are appealing to communities to always remain vigilant when at their homes and to contact police immediately when they see anything out of the ordinary. We have rapid response teams deployed strategically to respond speedily to crimes in progress.

“Communities must jealously guard their territories and account for criminal incidents occurring in the areas they are guardians of and I am pleased to hear that the community has done so in this case by alerting police through their establish communication channels,” he said.

(Compiled by Makhosandile Zulu)

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.