Teamwork by local armed response officers ensured that two suspects were taken into custody shortly after they allegedly tried to steal food from a children’s home recently.
According to Fidelity ADT branch manager in Nelson Mandela Bay, Ryan Britz, their monitoring centre team received a phone call from the EP Children’s Home last Sunday morning, at approximately 07:00.
“The caller described how she had opened the home’s motorised gates to allow a bread delivery truck to enter the property.
“The caller also told us that she saw two unidentified men hiding behind the truck, illegally gaining access to the property.
“She asked us to immediately send armed response to assist them,” Britz explained.
Three armed response vehicles were alerted to rush to the children’s home.
In the meantime, the suspects were allegedly observed breaking into a storeroom and stealing food, before fleeing.
“By the time our officers arrived, the suspects had already fled but the property manager gave them a detailed description of the suspects and the direction in which they fled.
“Our officers used this information to start searching the area,” Britz said.
It didn’t take long before two men who matched the description provided earlier, were spotted.
“They were ordered to stop by our officers and apprehended. A large quantity of food was found in their possession, which was later positively identified as the food stolen from the children’s home.
“It is very disturbing to hear of incidents where criminals target vulnerable communities or groups, such as a children’s home.
“This is why we are very happy that we were able to successfully apprehend the suspects and hand them over into police custody,” he added.
The suspects were arrested by Mount Road police and charged with trespassing, theft and attempted housebreaking.
