Johannesburg - The brother of William Mashobane “King of Bling” Mbatha has been arrested in Atteridgeville, west of Pretoria, for alleged house and business robberies, the Hawks said on Wednesday.
Mapogo Benson Mbatha, 38, was arrested early on Tuesday morning at a tavern on the corner of Ramushu and Tantsi streets, said spokesman Paul Ramaloko.
The arrest was part of a sting operation conducted by the Hawks and Gauteng detectives.
Mbatha was allegedly involved in several business and house robberies on the East Rand and in the Vaal.
He appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate's Court on Wednesday for sentencing in a car theft case.
In April 2012, his brother was sentenced to 113 years' imprisonment for robberies. He will serve 35 years of his sentence.
Mapogo Mbatha's alleged accomplice Shaun “Zikies” Geduld, 38, was arrested for alleged house robbery in Eldorado Park, Johannesburg, in December.
“During Geduld's arrest, expensive jewellery and wristwatches, such as Rolex and Rado, to the value of R1 million, which were allegedly stolen from various house robberies, were seized,” Ramaloko said.
Geduld has unsuccessfully brought several bail applications in the Vereeniging Magistrates' Court. He will be back in court again on February 28.
“The team will be working around the clock until all members of this gang are apprehended,” said Gauteng general detectives head Maj-Gen Norman Taioe.
Mbatha will appear in the Vereeniging Magistrate's Court on Friday.
Sapa