Durban - Police on Monday said that a pursuit of a driver having gone over the speed limit led to the arrest of ten suspects who had allegedly committed an armed robbery minutes before in Winterton, KwaZulu-Natal.
“Members of Winterton police responded immediately to the suspicious vehicle even though they were not aware that it was involved in an armed robbery,” said provincial commissioner Lieutenant General Mmamonnye Ngobeni on Monday.
“This shows that our members are dedicated and committed in fighting crime in our province.”
The police officers were commended for the speedy arrest of the ten suspects just minutes after the armed robbery of a local spaza shop on Friday.
The suspects – aged between 18 and 28 – held the owner of the spaza shop up at gunpoint, robbing him of money, cellphones, and cigarettes, before fleeing in their getaway vehicle.
Police patrolling the area saw the speeding suspects’ vehicle and gave chase.
The officers searched the vehicle, recovering all the stolen goods.
They also recovered an “unlicensed 9mm pistol with nine live ammunition rounds which was sent for ballistic tests to establish if it was used in any other crimes in the province”.
All ten suspects would appear in the Weenen Magistrate’s Court on Monday. They face charges of armed robbery and possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.
ANA