In two separate incidents on Wednesday, police officers working in the Ladysmith area arrested suspects in robbery cases.
The first incident occurred at about 6.15am in Carbineer Road, where a 26-year-old woman was robbed while walking to work. She was accosted by two suspects, one of whom threatened her with a screwdriver. The suspects made off with her handbag, a small amount of cash and her cell-phone.
Ladysmith police responded and were able to apprehend one of the suspects shortly afterwards.
His accomplice managed to elude capture and is being sought by police. The 29-year-old suspect faces charges of robbery and appeared in the Ladysmith Magistrate’s Court yesterday (Thursday).
In the second incident, a business in Steadville was robbed at about 1.30pm by four suspects who were in possession of a firearm. The suspects fled on foot with cash, cigarettes and airtime vouchers.
Officers from the Ladysmith Crime Intelligence Gathering Unit, Ladysmith Tactical Response Team (TRT) and Ladysmith Dog (K9) Unit responded and within minutes, one of the suspects was arrested. In his possession, police found an unlicensed 9mm firearm and ammunition suspected to have been used in the robbery.
Three other suspects are still being sought by police.
The 44-year-old suspect is set to appear in the Ladysmith Magistrate’s Court today (January 16), where he will face charges of robbery and the possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.
The KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Mmamonnye Ngobeni, has commended the Ladysmith police officers on their swift response in both cases. “These incidents once again demonstrate that if incidents are reported to police immediately, police will have a better chance of apprehending the suspects and gathering valuable evidence to aid in the investigation,” she said.
