Pretoria - A man, 31, was arrested by the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) after being found with clothes and gadgets stolen from victims who had been followed from the OR Tambo International Airport.
JMPD spokesperson Xolani Fihla said during the arrest, the man was also found with an unlicensed firearm in Houghton.
“On Saturday, April 8, while on patrol in the Johannesburg CBD, officers received a complaint about a vehicle, a white BMW, involved in an armed robbery in Bryanston, which was travelling in Yeoville,” Fihla said.
“The officers spotted and intercepted the vehicle at Houghton Drive and St Patrick Road, Houghton, being driven by a male. Upon searching the driver and the vehicle, the officers recovered an unlicensed firearm in his possession.”
The recovered property, which had been taken during the robbery, included an iPad, an iPhone, a laptop, four luggage bags and bags loaded with clothing items.
“The robbed property was later identified by the owner, who was summoned to the scene and confirmed he and his family were robbed at gunpoint on his way home from the airport,” said Fihla.
“The suspect, who is allegedly a member of a gang linked with airport robberies, was arrested and detained at Hillbrow SAPS. The vehicle used in the commission of the crime was seized and booked at the SAPS Aeroton pound.”
Last month, the JMPD arrested a man who was driving a stolen Toyota Land Cruiser VX-R, which had been stolen at Sandton.
At the time, Fihla said when the man driving the luxurious off-roader spotted police, he abandoned the powerful V8 vehicle and ran away, but officers gave chase and nabbed him.
“Officers received a complaint of a white Toyota Land Cruiser which was stolen on Tuesday morning, March 7, in Sandton and sought as per a Sandton SAPS case,” Fihla narrated.
The police officers received a tracking signal of the vehicle around the Kensington area in Joburg, indicating that the off-road vehicle was travelling on the R21 in the direction of Pretoria.
IOL