Six suspected robbers, including a local pastor, were arrested in connection with several business robberies in Somerset West.
According to Sergeant Suzan Jantjies, spokesperson for the Somerset West police, the suspects were nabbed by authorities after being positively linked to three incidents in which businesses were targeted by armed robbers over a period of two months.
Jantjies said the first incident reportedly occurred on Saturday 7 October, when the suspected robbers pounced on a business in Belvedere Road around 09:00. Staff were threatened at gunpoint and the suspects made off with an undisclosed amount of money.
Jantjies further said the incident was succeeded by another reported on Friday 3 November, when a group of men entered a business located at Somerset West Business Park at 15:00. Two suspects, one of them with a firearm, approached an office where a scuffle ensued between the business owner and gun-wielding robber.
A shot went off and the owner was wounded in the stomach. The suspects fled the scene in a white Hyundai vehicle. The wounded victim was taken to hospital for medical attention.
The most recent incident occurred on Saturday 4 November, when the suspects swooped on a shop in Oak Street. Jantjies said according to the complainant three men entered the store demanding money and cellphones from staff and customers threatened at gunpoint before fleeing the scene. The cases were assigned to a team of detectives who successfully followed up on all the leads, which resulted in a breakthrough. Through a tracing operation the suspected robbers were arrested at various addresses in Lwandle and Strand on Sunday 5 and Monday 6 November. The suspects, aged 44, 33, 29, 36, 30 and 28, were apprehended on charges of business robbery and appeared in the Somerset West Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday 7 and Wednesday 8 and Monday 13 November.
However, police are confident that more charges will be added. The case was postponed to Wednesday 22 November.
Station Commander Colonel Jacolize Fleischmann commended the members for the outstanding investigation and breakthrough. She stated the arrest brought much relief, as many businesses in Somerset West had been targeted by the suspected group. She added the police would oppose the suspects’ bail.
