Taxi owners pulled off a daring citizen’s arrest at the Madadeni Section 5 taxi rank on the evening of January 13.
Police said the passenger of a taxi en route from Section 1, robbed a foreign national at about 10.30pm.
The investigating officers arrived on scene to find taxi owners had already apprehended the suspect.
A community member pointed police in the direction of a black backpack the suspect was carrying at the time of the incident.
Upon further inspection, police found a plastic bag containing 17 Mandrax tablets, with an approximate street value of about R50 per tablet. The culprit claimed he was selling the drugs for R30 per tablet.
“The victim who was robbed could not be found,” said Lieutenant Phindile Mabaso of SAPS Corporate Communications Department.
The 27-year-old suspect was arrested, and later charged at the Madadeni police station. He recently appeared before the Madadeni Magistrate’s Court on charges of possession of Mandrax.
Madadeni police commended the community on going beyond the call of duty, as well as the investigating officers for their rapid response.
