BEREA police arrested three men who chased a foreign man into a Musgrave restaurant on Tuesday afternoon where they held him up and assaulted him.
According to a witness who works at the restaurant and spoke to Berea Mail on conditions of anonymity, the man had run into the restaurant followed by two men when pandemonium broke out. “They pistol whipped him and robbed the guy in full view of patrons,” she said.
Lieutenant PN Naidoo, communications officer at Berea Police Station said the man was allegedly robbed of R2200 and a cellphone.
Terrified patrons ran out the restaurant, but the men, according to the witness, acted as thought they were police, armed with firearms. However, she said when she saw how they behaved she was not fooled into believing they were police.
Berea crime prevention members led by Captain Thomas Naidoo responded to the incident. Armed with leads and CCTV footage, the police followed up with extensive investigations which saw them working throughout the night and eventually recovering the getaway car, a white Opel Corsa which was used in the robbery and arresting three suspects.
“The two men robbed the man while a third was waiting in the getaway car. Once they were done they sped off in the vehicle. The vehicle was traced and tracked and the suspects were arrested in the CBD on Wednesday afternoon.
“A witness outside the restaurant saw the men run to the vehicle. The registration was taken, after looking it up on the system, our members were able to track the owner to the CBD,” added Naidoo.
The three men aged between 22 and 30 were arrested for armed robbery.
A star pistol was recovered as well as a black replica pistol.
