Three suspected armed robbers appeared in the Strand Magistrates’ Court on Friday (21 April) in connection with an armed robbery that was thwarted by a courageous taxi driver, who managed to apprehend two of the three suspects involved in the incident when some of the victims reached out for help as he passed by the crime scene.
Preliminary investigations suggest the victims, off-duty security guards, were travelling home when the driver was accosted and robbed of his telephone and wallet by one of the robbers at gunpoint when he stopped on the corner of Hlathi Drive and Solomon Street in Asanda Village, Lwandle around 20:00 on Wednesday (19 April).
His two accomplices allegedly accosted the rest of the passengers and robbed them of their personal belongings.
The three then fled on foot. Meanwhile, some of the victims also fled and sought help from an approaching minibus-taxi driver.
He then reportedly chased two of the suspects down, apprehended them and handed them over to police, who arrested and charged them.
As police were processing the first two, the third accomplice, a colleague of those who were robbed, surrendered to authorities in acknowledgement of his involvement in the crime.
A source who prefers to remain anonymous for safety reasons confirmed that the off-duty security officers who were robbed and the one suspect who handed himself over to police all work for the Vetus Schola Group.
All three suspects, aged 26 to 33 years old, appeared in the Strand Magistrates’ Court on charges relating to armed robbery.
The Vetus Schola Group decided to not give any comments at this stage as the case is still being investigated.
The suspects were remanded in custody and the case was postponed to Friday (28 April).
