The SAPS Brighton Beach Trio Crime Prevention unit, in collaboration with security partners, has arrested four suspects linked to a series of house burglaries across Durban.

The suspects were arrested on Saturday during a sting operation.

The men were apprehended after a dramatic car chase involving a silver Suzuki Ertiga, which was under surveillance due to its connection with recent break-ins in the Durban and Bluff areas.

eThekwini District Police spokesperson Captain Carmen Rhynes says the vehicle was spotted on Friday afternoon by a Brighton Beach Trio member on Bluff Road.

“When police attempted to pull over the vehicle, the driver sped off, leading to a high-speed pursuit into the Bayhead area. The chase ended when the suspects abandoned the vehicle and attempted to flee on foot. Police and security personnel quickly apprehended four African males, aged between 22 and 32 years old.

“Upon searching the vehicle and the suspects, police recovered two cellphones that had been reported stolen from a housebreaking earlier that day in The Bluff precinct. Additional stolen items valued at about R60 000 were also found in the vehicle, including two big-screen televisions, a laptop, two PlayStations, an amplifier, expensive liquor and clothing,” says Rhynes.

The suspects were detained at Brighton Beach SAPS on charges of housebreaking and possession of stolen property. Further profiling linked them to 20 other house burglary and house robbery cases in the Scottburgh and Durban areas.

“The investigation is ongoing, with police working to connect the suspects to additional cases within Durban,” Rhynes says.

The suspects were due to appear in the Durban Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

Major General Makhosazana Victoria Kheswa, eThekwini’s district commissioner, praised the co-ordinated efforts that led to the arrests.

“I’m pleased with this excellent arrest and commend our members and security partners in working together to make a difference and rid our communities of career criminals. I am sure these four suspects will not walk as free men for a very long time. The hand of the law has finally caught up with them, as it always does,” says Kheswa.