Pretoria – Five men have been arrested by the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD), working with the police’s crime intelligence unit, after a daring armed robbery at a Shoprite supermarket in Dobsonville.
JMPD spokesperson Xolani Fihla said in the early hours of Thursday morning, officers received information about the suspects who allegedly committed the armed robbery.
“The officers proceeded to the given address in Bram Fischerville, and upon their arrival, two males were found at the premises. Both males were searched and one male was found to be in possession of an unlicensed firearm,” Fihla said.
He said one of the two men was linked to robbers seen in CCTV footage from the Shoprite robbery. The two men were then arrested.
“The officers proceeded to the second address, a few streets away from the first premises. Upon their arrival, two males were found at the premises. The officers searched the suspects and the house,” Fihla said.
“They recovered an undisclosed amount of money with ink stains. Both suspects were identified via the footage from the Shoprite business robbery. The duo was also arrested.”
The police officers proceeded to a third address, on the same street, where a fifth suspect was arrested. He was allegedly found in possession of two unlicensed firearms. Both firearms had serial numbers filed off.
“The (fifth) suspect was sought and linked to armed business robberies at Shoprite, U-Save Chavani Waterval, Boxer, and Engen filling station. He was also linked to Nedbank and First National Bank ATM bombings in Venda,” Fihla said.
All five suspects were detained at Dobsonville SAPS. They are due to appear in court today.
IOL