Looters are stopped in their tracks
They were taken to the Tembisa police station where they are waiting to appear in court.
Police rescued a township from thugs who were on their way to loot both foreign- and locally owned businesses.
A joint operation between the Ekurhuleni Metro Police and SAPS members prevented a mob from looting both the Tembisa Plaza and the Birch Acres Mall on Wednesday afternoon.
The mob had already forced entry into the Tembisa Plaza premises and overpowered security when police confronted them.
Before this, the EMPD Equestrian unit and SAPS members had earlier chased down and arrested six suspects, who were forcefully attempting to gain access to a locked business centre in the area.
The six suspects between the ages of 25 and 35, were caught in the act of breaking a wall next to the locked main entrance of the All Nation mini-market situated on Jakal Street, and possibly loot the business premises.
They were taken to the Tembisa police station where they are waiting to appear in court.
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According to the police, the suspects are currently charged with malicious damage to property but public violence could later be added. Detectives are investigating if the suspects also participated in a reported case of obstructing the free flow of traffic around the vicinity by burning tyres in the middle of the roadway.
The actions began on Monday morning with several suspects breaking into foreign-owned businesses in what was later deemed as xenophobic attacks. Locally owned businesses suffered the same fate, which raised the question, are these xenophobic attacks or just sheer criminality in motion?
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