House robber caught in the act
The man was tracked down through the aid of a lookout alert given by a tracking vehicle patrolling in the area.
A man has been arrested for possession of items stolen during a house robbery and for an illegal firearm and ammunition.
Tshwane SAPS flying squad spokesperson Sergeant Alfred Legodi said the man was arrested at the scene of the crime in Heatherdale, Akasia.
He was tracked down through the aid of a lookout alert given by a tracking vehicle patrolling in the area.
“Police recovered a white single-cab Toyota Hilux bakkie which was taken in the house robbery, a pistol with the serial number removed, a magazine and eight rounds of ammunition,” he said.
Other stolen property that was recovered reportedly amounted to around R150 000 – a cellphone valued at around R20 000 and other items such as a plasma TV, shoes and takkies valued at an estimated R80 000.
In an unrelated incident, tobacco valued at an estimated R3m was recovered in an allegedly hijacked truck in the Pretoria North vicinity by the Tshwane SAPS flying squad earlier this week.
Both of the trailers attached to the truck were reportedly filled with tobacco.
“One suspect was arrested for hijacking,” Legodi said.
The suspect reportedly resided in Block JJ in Soshanguve.
“The truck was driven to the pound for safekeeping,” he said.
Akasia, Rietgat and Sinoville police stations were ranked number two, 20 and 25 where truck hijacking incidents were the most prevalent according to crime statistics recorded between April and June.
Police had also warned truck owners and drivers to be cautious of scammers who rented their vehicles for nefarious reasons.
Akasia police spokesperson Constable Lindiwe Mdluli recently said house break-ins in the policing precinct had once again become a problem.
She explained that while they had tried to increase their crime combating attempts by increasing patrols, criminals continuously changed their patterns.
She said criminals often changed the times when they broke into people’s homes when police were not patrolling.
Mdluli initially highlighted that an increase in the number of break-ins had been recorded in The Orchards in August.
Also in August, the Akasia police station was identified as a so-called “trio crime” (carjacking, robberies at residential and non-residential premises) hotspots when police minister Bheki Cele released the latest crime statistics recorded between April and June this year.
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