A thief was fresh out of luck when he was caught by a fast-acting cop just after stealing a woman’s cellphone on Saturday afternoon.
This came a day after police had been deployed to Central Avenue and Pretoria Road, in the CBD, close to the taxi rank, an area identified as a hot spot for muggings.
According to Kempton Police spokesperson Capt Jethro Mtshali, the robbers usually hang around on the streets, waiting to target their next victims.
After the hot spot was identified, police officers were deployed to the area on Friday last week (January 13), where they patrolled from 6am to 6pm.
This proved to be an effective strategy as police managed to make three arrests on the day.
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“Two suspects were arrested for possession of drugs while a third one was caught in possession of a suspected stolen cellphone,” Mtshali said.
The next day, another cellphone thief was arrested.
A policeman was patrolling in town when he was alerted to the suspect and quickly chased him down.
The 32-year-old male had stolen the cellphone out of the backpack of a 34-year-old woman, according to Mtshali.
“The incident occurred on Saturday at about 12.30pm. The female victim was walking along corner Central Avenue and Pretoria Road when she suddenly felt someone touching her. When she turned around to look, the person had already taken off on foot,” Mtshali confirmed.
The woman then realised the zip on her bag had been opened and her cellphone was missing.
“She immediately alerted a patrolling police officer who was nearby. The officer then chased after the suspect and managed to catch him.”
The suspect, a Nigerian national, will appear in court on a robbery charge.
“The station commander of Kempton SAPS, Brig Bertha Kgoroba, is warning the community to be more careful and vigilant when walking in those areas.”
