Cops bust violent robbery gang
28 January 2010, 09:49
By Barry Bateman
Lyttelton police believe they have bust a gang responsible for a range of violent armed robberies in the wake of a raid on the prime suspect's Centurion townhouse.
On Wednesday stunned residents of the Marbella townhouse complex in Embankment Street arrived home to discover dozens of police officers searching vehicles and documenting heaps of suspected stolen goods.
The main suspect whose home was raided fled, but a man who arrived on a superbike, who may be linked to violent mall robberies, was detained for questioning.
Police spokeswoman Lynette Erasmus said the breakthrough was a result of a joint operation involving the Lyttelton serious crime reaction unit's task team, their client service centre and the Tshwane metro police.
She said the task team received information about the location of a maroon Dodge vehicle which had been linked to numerous crimes, including armed robbery.
In an unmarked car, the team followed the suspect from the townhouse complex to The Reeds shopping centre where he met a man riding a motorcycle.
"After a brief meeting the pair went their separate ways. The team continued to follow the suspect in the Dodge. When the suspect realised he was being followed, he made a break for it by skipping red traffic lights," she said.
The police were unable to chase the suspect because they did not have lights and sirens fitted to their vehicle.
Erasmus said the team went back to the complex where they found the Dodge parked, but this time they spotted the suspect driving a white Ford bakkie.
"The suspect spotted police and fled the scene, again by skipping red traffic lights. The bakkie was later recovered in the basement of the Centurion Mall," she said.
When the man fled, he was apparently on his way to meet another man on a motorcycle at the gates of the complex.
Police detained that man for questioning. He has not been charged.
In addition to the Dodge and the Ford bakkie - which were stolen in Sinoville and Silverton respectively - police recovered a VW Caravelle and a Mercedes-Benz Vito.
All the vehicles have been linked to crimes, including armed robbery, throughout Pretoria.
At the three-bedroom townhouse, which the suspect shared with his wife and two children aged two and six, police seized dozens of handbags, bags filled with watches and jewellery, video cameras, computer equipment, housebreaking tools, iPods, cellphones and a host of other suspected stolen goods.
Also among the loot were designer clothes and shoes.
Shocked residents said they could not believe that their "friendly" neighbour could have been responsible for the alleged crimes. "The family looked like they had a lot of money," said one woman. "He always had different cars parked here."
Another neighbour, who did not want to be identified, said she became suspicious when she noticed that the man drove different cars and parked them in peculiar ways.
"One day the Dodge was in the garage with the Mercedes, on another it was the Ford inside with a VW Polo.
"I asked their nanny what he did for a living and she said he owned a car dealership, so I thought nothing of it after that," she said.
The woman said her neighbour was a pleasant man. "I am shocked by this. What is really scary is that they recovered a gun from the home. My kids played with his kids," she said.
Police have appealed to victims of crime who may have noticed the Dodge to come forward. Police suspect the man is linked to a host of violent crimes in Pretoria.
Anyone with information related to the vehicle or the suspect should call Inspector Jorrie Jordaan at 012 644 8600.
Lyttelton police believe they have bust a gang responsible for a range of violent armed robberies in the wake of a raid on the prime suspect's Centurion townhouse.
On Wednesday stunned residents of the Marbella townhouse complex in Embankment Street arrived home to discover dozens of police officers searching vehicles and documenting heaps of suspected stolen goods.
The main suspect whose home was raided fled, but a man who arrived on a superbike, who may be linked to violent mall robberies, was detained for questioning.
Police spokeswoman Lynette Erasmus said the breakthrough was a result of a joint operation involving the Lyttelton serious crime reaction unit's task team, their client service centre and the Tshwane metro police.
She said the task team received information about the location of a maroon Dodge vehicle which had been linked to numerous crimes, including armed robbery.
In an unmarked car, the team followed the suspect from the townhouse complex to The Reeds shopping centre where he met a man riding a motorcycle.
"After a brief meeting the pair went their separate ways. The team continued to follow the suspect in the Dodge. When the suspect realised he was being followed, he made a break for it by skipping red traffic lights," she said.
The police were unable to chase the suspect because they did not have lights and sirens fitted to their vehicle.
Erasmus said the team went back to the complex where they found the Dodge parked, but this time they spotted the suspect driving a white Ford bakkie.
"The suspect spotted police and fled the scene, again by skipping red traffic lights. The bakkie was later recovered in the basement of the Centurion Mall," she said.
When the man fled, he was apparently on his way to meet another man on a motorcycle at the gates of the complex.
Police detained that man for questioning. He has not been charged.
In addition to the Dodge and the Ford bakkie - which were stolen in Sinoville and Silverton respectively - police recovered a VW Caravelle and a Mercedes-Benz Vito.
All the vehicles have been linked to crimes, including armed robbery, throughout Pretoria.
At the three-bedroom townhouse, which the suspect shared with his wife and two children aged two and six, police seized dozens of handbags, bags filled with watches and jewellery, video cameras, computer equipment, housebreaking tools, iPods, cellphones and a host of other suspected stolen goods.
Also among the loot were designer clothes and shoes.
Shocked residents said they could not believe that their "friendly" neighbour could have been responsible for the alleged crimes. "The family looked like they had a lot of money," said one woman. "He always had different cars parked here."
Another neighbour, who did not want to be identified, said she became suspicious when she noticed that the man drove different cars and parked them in peculiar ways.
"One day the Dodge was in the garage with the Mercedes, on another it was the Ford inside with a VW Polo.
"I asked their nanny what he did for a living and she said he owned a car dealership, so I thought nothing of it after that," she said.
The woman said her neighbour was a pleasant man. "I am shocked by this. What is really scary is that they recovered a gun from the home. My kids played with his kids," she said.
Police have appealed to victims of crime who may have noticed the Dodge to come forward. Police suspect the man is linked to a host of violent crimes in Pretoria.
Anyone with information related to the vehicle or the suspect should call Inspector Jorrie Jordaan at 012 644 8600.
- This article was originally published on page 3 of The Pretoria News on January 28, 2010
Pretoria
