Five people, all foreign nationals, have been arrested in the early hours of October 30 in connection with a business robbery in Ivory Park’s Extension Two during which a foreign national was shot dead, the owner of the store, and his assistant injured.
According to the Ivory Park SAPS communications officer, Capt Bernard Matimulane, the robbery took place several months ago.
“The group, four men and a woman, were arrested by a police team comprising Crime Intelligence Head Office, Ivory Park Crime Prevention, Ekurhuleni K9 and the Johannesburg Metro Police Department Unmarked Freeway Unit members,” said Matimulane.
Matimulane added the team, acting on information, received intelligence that the suspects responsible for the business robbery were located at various addresses in Ivory Park and nearby areas.
“During that robbery, an undisclosed amount of cash and airtime vouchers were taken,” he said.
Matimulane explained after receiving the tip-off, investigations and follow-ups took almost six hours but the police managed to arrest the suspects and found an unlicensed firearm with 14 rounds of live ammunition. Its serial number was filed off.
“Investigations into whether this group may have been involved in other robberies in the area are continuing,” added Matimulane.
The commander of the Ekurhuleni North Cluster, Maj Gen Vincent Leshabane, who joined the units during investigations, has welcomed these arrests as a step in the right direction and has instructed the officers to leave no stone unturned. He commended the multi-disciplinary team for the excellent work done.
“All of the information gathered will be followed up to the letter. Their cellphones will be taken in for downloading because these are not the kind of people we want to take chances with,” said Leshabane.
The five, who are all in the country illegally, are expected to appear in the Tembisa Magistrate’s Court to answer to charges levelled against them.
