A SUSPECTED thief was arrested in Japanese Gardens on Monday by the Durban North SAPS crime prevention unit. According to Capt Raymond Deokaran, the suspect attempted to evade police after he was spotted but was tackled to the ground after a short foot chase through the municipal gardens. The arrest was made at about 3.45pm.

“Our crime prevention unit spotted the man acting suspiciously, when we approached him, he bolted towards the bottom of the gardens. Our officers chased after him and he was eventually tackled to the ground. We found a silver Macbook laptop on him which he couldn’t account for. He then said he was looking for a place to charge the laptop. We later found out he had stolen the laptop from a local school. The thief is wanted for a house break-in in Berea,” he said.

The arrest follows a similar operation by the crime prevention unit last month which saw the arrest of two other suspects also linked to the armed robberies.