Two domestic workers were robbed at gunpoint by two men on 6th Road West while going to work around 7.45am on 18 June.
In the dip of 6th Road West, between Carel Venter Park and Alberts Farm, the domestic workers were passed by two men walking in the opposite direction.
Seconds later the men had turned around and attempted to snatch the women’s handbags and cellphones. One of the attackers had a firearm.
Suburban Crime Prevention (SCP) MD Valarie Khan said that she and SCP reaction manager Pieter Strydom were in a marked SCP vehicle on their way to the office when they were flagged down by a motorist who told them of an armed robbery that had just occurred on 6th Street West.
“Strydom immediately responded, but by the time we reached the scene, the suspects had already fled on foot,” said Khan. “Witnesses pointed at a man wearing a red and black jacket running in the direction of Albertskroon. Strydom called for back-up. Our SCP officers Patrick Mkhwanazi and Vincent Mngube apprehended the suspect shortly afterwards on 1st Street in Albertskroon.”
The victim identified the suspect. He still had her cellphone on his person. The second suspect, wearing a black jacket and carrying the firearm, managed to evade capture and hid in the dense vegetation of the Alberts Farm Conservancy.
“Both suspects appeared to be homeless foreign nationals living rough in the Alberts Farm area,” said Roland Grote, GM of SCP. “When a SAPS K9 unit arrived, the suspect our officers had apprehended was arrested and charged with armed robbery. He claimed that his accomplice had used a toy gun, but as the second suspect had escaped, this could not be verified.”
SCP urges pedestrians not to walk and talk on their cellphones, or have them out on display, but to keep them concealed on their person at all times.
Details: Valarie Khan, Suburban Crime Prevention, 011 042 8702.
