While Gauteng police top brass gathered at Hillbrow police station on Thursday to announce a breakthrough in mall robberies which have struck fear in the hearts of many Christmas shoppers, a violent clash erupted at a mall between security officers and undercover police officers on a routine patrol.
An undercover policeman was shot in the leg when security guards loading money into an ATM at the Golden Walk shopping centre in Germiston apparently mistook him for a robber.
Provincial police spokeswoman Captain Doniah Mothutsane said undercover policemen in civilian clothes approached the guards and asked them if everything was okay.
She said the security guards thought they were being robbed and opened fire. “We are investigating an attempted murder case,” she added.
At a media briefing at Hillbrow police station to highlight recent police successes, Gauteng provincial commissioner Lieutenant-General Lesetja Mothiba said that since they had launched the festive season operation When Duty Calls, security had been intensified at malls, and they were working hand in hand with mall security.
Mothiba said 13 Nyala armoured vehicles had been deployed at various malls and “our sector vehicles are also on patrols”.
He said they had arrested several suspects in connection with the robberies. Police had also managed to foil several robberies.
He added that other people were suspected of colluding with the mall robbers.
Mothiba asked how it was possible that the shops would be robbed at the time that goods were being delivered to the premises. “It is corrupt employees in the shops who are working with the robbers,” he said.
He urged security guards to vet all mall employees.
Mothiba pointed out that there were syndicates targeting the malls, referring to the number of suspects arrested. “One mall robbery is one too many,” he added.
“Police and detectives are in the process of making a big breakthrough. Working together is resulting in many arrests,” he said.
Another success, Mothiba said, was that they had arrested one of the most wanted criminals in connection with robberies at cellphone shops. The suspect was detained during a stop-and-search in Polokwane in the early hours of yesterday, apparently on his way to Zimbabwe.
“We have information that could link the suspect to up to 17 armed robberies in the province. Some of the cases include cellular shop robberies in Benoni, Witbank, Vereeniging, Linden, Sandton, Midrand, Lyttelton and Honeydew,” Mothiba said.
“This is a significant arrest. We could link him to other robberies at the malls where cellphones were stolen.”
The suspect was expected to appear in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court soon.
The Star