A man believed to be a metro police officer will appear in Benoni Magistrate’s Court facing charges of armed robbery and possession of suspected stolen goods.
The EMPD officer, apparently based in Edenvale, was arrested in Bredell in the early hours of Sunday morning along with two accomplices for robbing two victims of cellphones and more than R2 000 cash.
According to Capt Jethro Mtshali, spokesperson for Kempton Park SAPS, the three were arrested at about 3.45am.
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“It is alleged that the victims were driving in a Golf when they were pulled over by the suspects, who were driving a blue Ford. The suspects, one of whom was armed with a firearm, searched the victims and stole more than R2 000 cash and cellphones at the corner of Peenz and Zesfontein roads, Putfontein, in the Benoni area,”Mtshali said.
After the victims were robbed, they spotted a CMS patrol vehicle and alerted the security officer of the incident.
“The CMS security vehicle then followed the suspects and arrested them in Bredell and handed them over to the metro police, who were also on patrol,” Mtshali explained.
Upon searching the suspects’ vehicle, they found it had a white strobe light on.
About six cellphones, some of which belonged to the victims, cash, a metro police cap and a firearm issued to metro police officers, were also found.
The victims were brought in and managed to identify their stolen items.
“Police will investigate if these suspects are linked to other crimes, as there have been reports of victims alleging they were robbed by a metro police officer with accomplices,” elaborated Mtshali.
The man (30) cannot be named until he appears in court. His accomplices are aged 25 and 35.
