Durban - A popular clothing store with a national footprint was robbed by a gang of armed suspects in the Waterloo area of Verulam in KwaZulu-Natal on Monday.
Reaction Unit South Africa(Rusa) spokesperson Prem Balram, said its members were called for assistance at approximately 2.13pm.
“On arrival, it was established that the gunmen entered the store and held up employees and patrons. They stole several cellphones and airtime vouchers before they fled in a black unknown vehicle,” he said.
Provincial police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said the store was allegedly robbed by seven armed suspects on Monday, 8 May.
“The suspects reportedly robbed the security guard of his firearm and fled the scene with cellphones and an undisclosed amount of money,” he said.
Verulam police are investigating a case of business robbery.
Rusa said no injuries were reported.
Last week, The Mercury’s sister publication, the Daily News, reported that police in KZN arrested 8 809 suspects for various crimes and recovered 325 guns last month.
Netshiunda said in the report that police operations in different parts of the province focussing on various crimes including murder, attempted murder, robberies, rape, dealing in drugs as well as possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition between April 1 to 30.
KZN police commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, assured residents that targeted, intelligence-led operations would continue, and police would enforce the law so that those involved in criminal activities will be “out of breathing space”.
“Police are determined to bring stability, peace and order in our province. No amount of anarchy will be tolerated and no self-proclaimed gang or crime kingpin will have the luxury of space to torment and terrorise law-abiding citizens.
“We encourage our policemen and policewomen to continue safeguarding the citizens without fear and narrow the space for criminals. We also appeal to community members to continue providing us with useful tip-offs that contribute to our intelligence capacity and lead to the arrest of dangerous suspects,” said Mkhwanazi.