Cape Town - Getaway cars used in a robbery at a food outlet on Friday, the third shop in the city to be hit within about 12 hours, may lead police to where the robbers are based.
The country has recently been rocked by a series of mall robberies – with the frequency of attacks in the Western Cape accelerating over the past few weeks.
In less than a month, 13 shops have been targeted, and police have stepped up operations in response. But the robberies have continued.
The problem has also persisted in Gauteng, where there was a shootout with robbers at Centurion Mall outside Pretoria on Friday, the second in two months.
In the Western Cape, the Nando’s at the Plattekloof Village Shopping Centre was robbed on Friday in one of three similar attacks in the space of about 12 hours.
Manager
Vernon Marais said two vehicles were involved, a Toyota Corolla and a Mercedes Benz.
“The police have tracked the vehicles to Khayelitsha,” he said.
Police spokesman Frederick van Wyk confirmed that officers were trying to track down the robbers, based on the getaway cars.
Marais said eight men were involved in the Nando’s robbery.
“They walked in the front and asked for chicken. (The staff) said we aren’t open yet. When they looked up, they saw six guys in the front and two coming from the back.
“They had handguns,” he said. The armed men left the store after taking cash.
A witness said the eight men had been well dressed.
In the second attack on Friday, at roughly the same time, a Vodacom shop in the Bayside Mall in Table View was robbed.
Three robbers reportedly walked into the shop with firearms. They threatened employees and stole cellphones.
Van Wyk said the robbers escaped in a silver BMW with a false number plate.
In another mall robbery, about 12 hours earlier, the Canal Walk Shopping Centre was robbed for the third time in eight days when the Cardies store was held up on Thursday.
Van Wyk said two robbers walked into the shop with firearms, and threatened employees. They stole cash and other items, then fled.
On Friday, Community Safety MEC Dan Plato, who recently called on police to detail their strategy in dealing with the robberies, said he planned to meet Canal Walk’s management on Tuesday.
He said the robberies were worrying, and that it appeared those behind the incidents were getting more brazen.
Other malls were increasing security as a result of the robberies.
V&A Waterfront spokeswoman Carla White said they regularly assessed safety procedures.
At the start of this month five armed men had robbed a customer of jewellery in a parking area.
“In the event of an incident, we work to speedily supply footage to (the police) that helps outline events and identify culprits involved. This proves invaluable in their investigation,” White said.
Canal Walk chief executive Gavin Wood said the mall robberies were a major concern. One of the measures they would implement to boost security was perimeter fencing and tactical response vehicles.
“We have increased our security personnel and deployed more undercover guards. We will be introducing further technology, which includes CCTV and other security infrastructure,” he added.
Security staff were also conducting random stop-and-searches at entrances.
Gauteng police previously battled a similar mall robbery problem. In a statement, they said at least eight malls were targeted last month.
Officers in the Crime Intelligence unit had investigated the spate of robberies and five suspects were arrested during raids in Brixton and Doornfontein.
Weekend Argus