Midrand police arrested a 31-year-old suspect in connection with a business robbery which took place at a local shopping mall on 14 July.
Spokesperson for the Midrand Police Station, Sergeant Matome Tlamela said that, on the day in question, a cashier was working behind a till at a store when three men, one of whom was armed, entered the store while pushing a trolley from another store, and pretended to be shopping for a cell phone.
Tlamela said the suspects approached the cashier side by side and allegedly pointed a firearm at him demanding cash.
The cashier was ordered to open the safe and, when he informed the men that he did not know the code, they asked another staff member to open the safe.
The safe was opened and it contained 36 cell phones of different makes valued at R62 980. The shop’s security officer on duty immediately contacted the police and informed them of a robbery-in-progress.
“Centre security came and two suspects fled and the one near the safe was closed inside the store and was apprehended,” said Tlamela.
The suspect was later detained by police. The suspects did not get away with the cell phones.
The arrested suspect will appear in the Alexandra Magistrates’ Court in due course on charges of business robbery.
