Infamous car thief arrested in Durban North
Before the car thief was arrested he attempted to run over a security guard who had pointed out the suspect to the police.
THE hunt for an infamous car thief ended on Wednesday morning when Greenwood Park Police and the Crime Prevention members arrested two house robbers in Durban North.
Police received a call regarding an alleged house robbery on Briar Lane at 10.45am, but when they arrived on scene they found that a house break-in was in progress, said Lt Col Zethu Ngobese of Greenwood Park SAPS.
Four suspects were identified by the security guard on site, one of whom was wielding a firearm. Two of the suspects, including the armed suspect, had already fled on foot but the other two were still in Briar Lane.
“The wanted car thief was believed to be the getaway driver of the operation, and was waiting outside the property in a grey Toyota Yaris. The fourth suspect had just finished loading the stolen items into the vehicle and to avoid arrest was calmly walking down the road, pretending to be an ordinary citizen. But the security guard pointed the men out to the police. One police member ran after the third suspect and apprehended him,” she said.
At that point the alleged car thief attempted to run over the security guard, but the quick response from another police officer prevented a tragedy from occurring. “When the officer noticed the suspect starting the vehicle he managed to stop the suspect by reaching into the open window and removing the car keys from the ignition,” Ngobese added.
The notorious car thief was released from prison in December last year and has been actively stealing vehicles since 2002. He was recently added to the wanted list in connection with various car thefts, house robberies and break-ins, said Ngobese.
Both of the arrested suspects, as well as the confiscated vehicle will be profiled to determine if they are connected to any other reported crimes. The other two suspects are still at large.
