Pretoria – The South African Police Service, in conjunction with the Joburg Metro Police Department, has arrested three suspects, aged between the ages of 18 to 20, for armed robbery, possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.
Spokesperson for the SAPS in Joburg central, Captain Xoli Mbele said the incident happened on Tuesday night at the corner of Jeppe and Delvers Street.
“It is alleged that three suspects robbed four victims who were coming from work. They took cellphones, money and their shoes. When the victims were walking away, they saw a police vehicle and alerted the officers,” said Mbele.
“They (the alleged robbers) were arrested, and a firearm with live ammunition was recovered. The firearm will be sent to ballistic testing to ascertain if it was used in the commission of other serious and violent crimes.”
Mbele said further investigations are underway, and the suspects will be appearing in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.
Earlier this month, police in Johannesburg central arrested a 28-year-old man for perjury after he registered a “false” case of cellphone theft.
“The suspect opened a false case of cellphone theft. He alleged that he was robbed of his cellphone, a Huawei Blush Gold Nova 8, worth R11 000, at corner Albert and Main Street, on February 28, 2022, at 6.30am,” Mbele said at the time.
Police then accompanied the complainant to the scene where he had allegedly been robbed.
“He then changed his story and told the police he was robbed at the corner Marshall and Eloff Street. They took him to view video footage, and he refused. He then told the police he was robbed at Maboneng Tavern,” said Mbele.
Preliminary investigations by the police have since revealed that the 28-year-old opened a similar case of cellphone theft last year, in November, and claimed from his insurance.
IOL