Free clothes given away before store robbery

On 31 May a case of business robbery was opened at the Brixton Police Station after five suspects robbed a clothing store at a popular student mall in Auckland Park.

After the robbers tied up the staff, the store was robbed of cell phones, cash and clothing amounting to the value of about R100 000. The tracing of one of the stolen phones enabled the police to arrest eight suspects in Katlehong after a shootout with officers. According to the station’s spokesperson Jeanette Backhoff, the suspects allegedly entered the clothing store just like any other customer would. She said, “One stopped to be sanitised and [another suspect] walked passed. The store worker at the door called the second man back and sanitised him. The man then said to the worker that he must not make a noise and pointed a firearm at him.”

Three other suspects then went behind the store’s counters pretending to be staff telling shoppers that the store’s computer system was offline. “They told customers that the system was offline and gave them free clothes. When they all [customers] left, the staff were brought together and all their cell phones were taken.”
The suspects fled the scene and it wasn’t until a customer walked into the store that the staff started screaming for assistance. The suspects were captured on CCTV fleeing the store and it showed that they used a white BMW and silver Mazda 6 to make their getaway.

Once it was discovered that one of the staff’s stolen cell phone was still on, it was traced by Brixton Flying Squad, Tactical Response Team Johannesburg, EMPD Swat, Magma Investigation Tracing, E-Track and Savika Tracing Unit.  Backhoff added, “Two vehicles, two firearms, the stolen cell phones, cash and clothing were recovered and seized at the house in Katlehong.”

The six suspects were arrested with an additional two suspects being arrested later by the Trio Task Team.