Police have taken three men to have their fingerprints checked after one of them snatched a victim’s cellphone at a parking lot in Craighall Park this afternoon, 4 April.
The three men then attempted to flee from the scene but were stopped in their tracks by police.
The victim, Shane Pillay, said he was on the phone with an insurance company in order to insure the car he had bought recently for his wife Shantal, as it is her birthday tomorrow.
“I was wondering why a man was loitering next to me but I didn’t think they would snatch my phone,” said Pillay.
He explained he was waiting for his wife to finish work when the suspicious man snatched his cellphone and tried to flee from the scene, along with another two men, in a red Chevrolet vehicle.
To the victim’s relief, the police witnessed the incident and prevented the driver from exiting the parking lot.
Johannesburg Tactical Response Team police officer, Sergeant Vincent Mabonda said they had witnessed the incident as they were passing by on Jan Smuts Avenue.
“We were just doing our normal patrol when we [noticed the commotion] and decided to act immediately. We can’t say we have arrested them but we have to take their fingerprints just to make sure that they’re clean,” said Mabonda.
An eyewitness, who wished to remain anonymous, said he had his suspicions when he saw the man standing suspiciously next to Pillay.
“I kept making signs that he should be careful but he was too focused on the phone call. I’m glad he got his mobile phone back,” said the eyewitness.
Pillay’s wife, who was quite shaken, shouted to the perpetrators, “Don’t you know people work hard to buy these kinds of things and you just want to steal them?”
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