Cops 3, Robbers 0

Published Sep 2, 2015

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Johannesburg - The armed gang must have thought they were well poised to pull off a major robbery.

For a few moments, they managed to load some of the shipment of cellphones and other devices worth about R1.2 million from a courier van whose driver they had held at gunpoint at the Clearwater Mall, west of Joburg, into their getaway car.

Unbeknown to them, police officers were lying in wait while sipping coffee at a nearby restaurant – ready to pounce. The officers had apparently been tipped off about the impending crime. And when they made their move, it was swift and deadly.

One of the suspects lay dead in a pool of blood. Two others were arrested, while another suspect died on the way to hospital.

Clearwater Mall was one of two shopping centres targeted by criminals on Tuesday.

In a second incident, east of the city, three suspects were wounded and four arrested following a high-speed chase on the N12 near Jet Park Road. The suspects were believed to have been on their way to commit a robbery at the East Rand Mall in Boksburg.

In the third incident late on Tuesday, police arrested four suspects after they had allegedly robbed a Shoprite store in Naledi, Soweto.

The suspects arrested in connection with the Clearwater Mall robbery are believed to be linked to other brazen attacks in and around Gauteng.

The drama unfolded shortly after 9am when a gang of armed men stormed the mall. They had apparently made their way into the mall’s parking lot in search of the courier van that was delivering goods to a shop in the mall.

Around 9.30am, the robbers held the driver of the van at gunpoint and began loading the devices into their vehicle.

Meanwhile, police were waiting for the robbers to make their move.

According to Marius Stander, the manager of JB’s Corner, a restaurant next to the entrance where the robbery took place, the officers were having coffee, while waiting for the gang to strike.

Moments after he saw the policemen leaving the restaurant shortly before 9.30am, Stander heard a series of gunshots. “There must have been at least 10 shots fired,” he said. Stander ran up to the second floor as the commotion grew louder.

Moments later, all was quiet. As he walked back downstairs, Stander said he was shocked to find two men lying on the ground in the nearby parking lot. One appeared to be dead.

“I’m glad it didn’t get any closer,” he said, adding that it was a relief that no bystanders were hurt in the crossfire.

  WARNING: This video contains graphic footage

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Other employees said a recent jewellery store robbery and Tuesday’s incident had left them worried about safety on the premises.

When a team from The Star arrived at the scene, the body of one of the suspects was still lying in the parking area.

A jammed firearm lay several metres away, surrounded by several spent cartridges. Despite the commotion, the rest of the mall was operating normally.

Gauteng police spokeswoman Lieutenant-Colonel Katlego Mogale confirmed that two of the suspects were dead in the Clearwater Mall robbery, two were wounded while two others had been arrested. No officers or bystanders were injured.

Police also seized four unlicensed firearms. “We are not ruling out the possibility that they were involved in other armed robberies around Gauteng,” Mogale said.

She added that an ongoing investigation into the suspects’ activities had revealed that the gang and their getaway car had been spotted at other malls in the province. – Additional reporting by Andile Zulu

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The Star

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