A swift response by Carletonville police led to the arrest of one suspect and the recovery of two stolen vehicles following a brazen house robbery involving criminals posing as police officers.

According to a senior police officer, the incident occurred on June 26.

A 23-year-old resident of Cactus Street was relaxing at home with friends at around 20:30 when they noticed a marked police double-cab bakkie pull up outside the property.

Six masked men got out of the vehicle. Three were dressed in full police uniforms, while the other three wore civilian clothing.

The armed suspects forced the resident and his friends to lie on the floor at gunpoint. While some guarded the victims, the others searched the house.

The robbers stole five cellphones, clothing, a licensed 9 mm pistol, a Ford Ranger bakkie and a dark grey BMW before fleeing the scene.

The victim immediately contacted Carletonville police.

Members of the Crime Prevention Unit quickly spotted the stolen BMW speeding out of town at the corner of Agnew Road and the P111, travelling alongside a red Hyundai i10.

When the suspects realised they had been detected, those travelling in the BMW abandoned the vehicle and jumped into another getaway car, while others fled on foot.

Police managed to stop the Hyundai i10 and arrested its driver, a man from Soweto. He allegedly told officers that he had been hired specifically to act as the driver during the robbery.

The stolen Ford Ranger was later recovered after it had been abandoned in Soweto.

Carletonville police are investigating a case of house robbery, and further arrests are expected.

The incident is not the first in which residents have been targeted by criminals posing as police officers or by officers allegedly abusing their positions.

On May 27, a resident of Begonia Street, just around the corner from Cactus Street, was robbed at his home. The suspects, who were reportedly six police officers, including two women, kidnapped the victim in his own Audi A3 before abandoning him in Roodepoort.

In a separate incident during 2024, police officers from Sebokeng and Meyerton were charged after they allegedly kidnapped a resident of Khutsong.

Meanwhile, social media images circulated this week showing several masked men wearing police uniforms arriving at a private home in Khutsong. One of the men was carrying a crowbar while the others searched the property using torches, with a marked police vehicle reportedly parked outside.

It is understood that the suspects fled after the resident activated an alarm, alerting a private security company.