Durban — Four suspects were arrested minutes after using a pick axe to enter a home in Amanzimtoti, ransacking it and fleeing with various items on Friday morning.
ET Rapid Response managing director Tony Lokker said a vehicle reported to have been involved in recent house robberies was spotted in the Amanzimtoti area. This information was relayed via the Community Crime Prevention Organisation (CCPO) network.
“Members of ET Rapid Response TRT (Tactical Response Team) and SAPS Umzinto K9 located the vehicle and intercepted the vehicle along the N2 freeway, Umbogintwini, Amanzimtoti,” Lokker said.
The vehicle, which was fitted with false registration plates, and its occupants were searched, he said. A flat screen TV, photographic equipment, jewellery, electronic equipment, cellphones, clothing, cash, a replica handgun, an okapi knife, a panga, a taser and house-breaking implements were found, he added.
“Some of the items found in the vehicle were linked to a house robbery in the Amanzimtoti area minutes before the vehicle was intercepted,” Lokker said.
“The vehicle and its occupants are also suspected to be linked to a house robbery last week in the Umkomaas area, as well as house robberies that had occurred in the Bluff, Wentworth, and Greenwood Park areas.”
Lokker said all four suspects, the vehicle and the exhibits were processed at Amanzimtoti SAPS.
He thanked the SAPS crime scene experts, Amanzimtoti SAPS crime prevention, Umkomaas SAPS, Umkomaas SAPS Detectives and Durban metro police for assistance on the scene.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda confirmed that police in Amanzimtoti have arrested four suspects in connection with a case of house robbery committed at a house on Long Acres Drive in Shilton on Friday morning, November 17, 2023.
He said that according to reports, an 83-year-old woman was sitting inside the house when she heard a noise at the door.
“When she went to investigate she saw a man breaking the door with a pick axe. Three suspects allegedly broke into the house and ransacked the house before fleeing,” Netshiunda said.
He said the suspect’s vehicle was spotted on the N2 freeway northbound at the Umbogintwini area in Amanzimtoti.
Netshiunda said that various police units, working together with private security, intercepted the vehicle and four suspects were arrested.
They were found in possession of house appliances, jewellery, clothing items, cellphones, cameras, a replica firearm, a knife, a panga as well as house-breaking implements. Their vehicle, a white Hyundai Grand i10, was also fitted with false registration plates, he said.
“Initial police investigations have linked the suspects with house robberies in the Bluff, Wentworth and Greenwood Park areas,” Netshiunda said.
“The suspect will appear in court soon.”
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