POLOKWANE – The police in Limpopo and Mpumalanga have arrested three men, aged between 39 and 42, in connection with a string of high-profile business robberies that rocked Polokwane’s central business district over the past two months.

The suspects were cornered in Kanyamazane Township, Mpumalanga, yesterday (October 2) during an intelligence-driven operation involving Limpopo’s Provincial Investigations Unit, the Limpopo Tracking Team, and their Mpumalanga counterparts.

According to the Limpopo police spokesperson, Colonel Malesela Ledwaba, the gang is believed to be behind three robberies in Polokwane:

• The Pep store heist on August (10).
• The Studio 88 robbery on August (16) and
• The Groom shop robbery on September (2).

“In each incident, armed suspects stormed the stores, fleeing with large quantities of clothing and cellphones. During the arrests, police recovered stolen goods valued at around R150 000, including items confirmed to have been taken during the Polokwane robberies,” Ledwaba’s statement read.

The suspects will appear before the Kanyamazane Magistrate’s Court today (October 3) on charges of possession of suspected stolen property.

They will then be transported to Limpopo to appear before the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court on Monday (October 6) where they face three counts of business robbery.

The provincial police commissioner, Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe, praised the joint operation:

“These arrests demonstrate the effectiveness of joint policing operations across provinces and reinforce our commitment to dealing decisively with organised criminal groups.”