VANDERBIJLPARK – They terrorize the community of Vanderbijlpark during the quietest hours of the day, robbing unsuspecting victims off their cellphones.
But what was meant to be a normal operational day on Tuesday, June 25 for the young men suspected to be around their 20s turned into a lesson never to be forgotten.
This is after a trio of alleged cellphone thieves was nabbed by the community of CE 5 in Smeaton Street after they snatched a cellphone from a young woman.
Refusing to lose her belonging, the defiant victim followed the trio while she screamed for help.
When the young men tried to evade their crime scene, they were caught by a group of angry women.
Speaking to Sedibeng Ster, the victim who refused to be named said “I had just hanged up a call when my cellphone was snatched. The incident happened on the Yellow Guest House side C.E 2. We followed the men until S.E 3 where they were held by some woman who saw me running behind them,” she said.
“I always heard of stories of these young men terrorizing the community, however I never thought I would be a victim of the same crime. I’m happy that I managed to get my phone and I was not harmed,” she said.
Nthabiseng Mngomezulu, not her real name, explained how she managed to catch the fleeing suspects.
“I saw the young men running towards our neighbourhood. When I tried to stop them, they claimed they are being robbed, but I knew there was something fishy when they refused to stop. I screamed for help as I also chased the three boys. When we [together with the other chasers] managed to stop them, we found out that the phone they had was not theirs, but that of the woman who was chasing them,” she said.
Mngomezulu said they are gatvol of cellphone thieves who roam their streets and rob their families.
“Our kids are robbed every day in these streets by these young men coming from Sharpeville. They know our community is always locked indoors; hence they take advantage. This should be a lesson to their accomplices that Vanderbijlpark is not a playground,” she said.
AfriForum, local CPFs and members of the SAPS Sedibeng flying squad attended to the scene after the suspects were partially beaten by angry crowds.
The trio had since been taken to Vanderbijlpark police station.
