On the morning of 2 December, APCAN’s Tactical Response Force (TRF Unit) received a call about the sighting of a white Toyota Rav4 being driven by a suspect who was wanted for his part in the theft of motor vehicles as well as housebreakings on and around the West Rand.
Units were dispatched immediately and the Reaction Officers identified the vehicle and tactically parked it in to prevent the suspect from fleeing; however, the suspect was nowhere to be found.
According to APCAN, the reaction officers then searched a nearby KFC and found the coloured male hiding in the baby room near the restrooms. “The suspect identified the vehicle as his mother’s, but denied any involvement in any crime,” stated the security company.
Read initial article from 2018 here: Fraudsters targeting your homes
A passer-by noticed the commotion and quickly realised that it was the same vehicle and registration that suspects had used when his bakkie was stolen on Thursday, 26 November. The community member released the security footage to APCAN where the suspect could allegedly be seen clearly stealing the bakkie, with the RAV on full display.
Police Highway Patrol arrived on scene and searched the vehicle, finding tools and equipment that the community remember identified as being taken with his bakkie. It was also discovered that the licence disc on the vehicle was fake. Further investigations showed that the vehicle being driven by the suspect was the same vehicle that was being searched since 2018 in relation to three suspects who allegedly posed as Johannesburg Water employees to trick community members into paying R1 000 to have their water turned back on. The search of the vehicle also led to the discovery of two sets of false number plates.
According to APCAN, the suspect was then arrested and taken to the Florida Police Station, where detectives confirmed that the suspect had been posing as a bogus City official to rob houses. “The suspect was detained and the vehicle booked into the SAPS13 for further investigation,” concluded the APCAN statement.
The security company thanked everyone involved in the successful arrest of the suspect. Florida Police have been contacted for comment, but by the time of publication, none had been received.
