Bloemfontein – Two alleged armed robbers were arrested within hours after a clothing shop in Thaba Nchu, east of Bloemfontein, was robbed of cellphones worth hundreds of thousands of rand, Free State police said on Saturday.
"The two suspects reportedly stormed into the Axact clothing store in Thaba Nchu shortly after operating time [on Friday] under the pretext of being customers," Captain Chaka Marope said.
One of the men then pulled out a firearm and forced the manager and his assistant to open the safe. The robbers packed an "assortment of expensive smart phones into three luggage bags" and escaped through the back door, he said.
A few hours later, members of the Parkweg crime prevention team followed up on information about two suspicious men selling suspected stolen cellphones in the Bloemfontein CBD.
"The two suspects were apprehended and caught off guard while in transaction, selling some of the stolen cellphones to the owner of the liquor outlet in Charlotte Maxeke Street."
Fifty-five smartphones in three travel bags were confiscated from the men. The value of the recovered cellphones was estimated at R270 000. After preliminary investigations the two men were positively linked to the Thaba Nchu robbery.
The arrested suspects, aged 32 and 34, were expected to appear in the Bloemfontein Magistrate`s Court on charges of possession of stolen property, and in the Selosesha Magistrate`s Court on charges of business robbery, Marope said.
Parkweg policing cluster commander Maj-Gen Piet de Wet applauded the police officers for the speedy arrest of the suspects who would face the full might of the law.
The investigation team should ensure that the arrested suspects were successfully prosecuted and given heavy sentences, he said.