Arrest of robbery suspects welcomed by Police Commissioner

Shots were fired during the robbery but no one was injured. The suspects fled the scene in two vehicles - a Mercedes Benz and a Toyota Etios.

National Police Commissioner, General Khehla Sitole, has welcomed the swift arrest of 12 suspects linked to a cash-in-transit robbery in Tlhabane, North West, on Wednesday morning.

The said robbers made off with an undisclosed amount of money.

In a statement, police spokesperson, Colonel Brenda Muridili, said: "It is reported that at about 09.15 am, three security guards were allegedly robbed of the money they had just collected from a supermarket at Zinniaville Shopping Complex on Bellflower Road."

Shots were fired during the robbery but no one was injured. The suspects fled the scene in two vehicles - a Mercedes Benz and a Toyota Etios.

The province immediately implemented the 72-Hour Activation plan which saw all the necessary resources implemented timeously.

Muridili said Crime Intelligence provided leads to the tracking team, which then operationalized the information and moved swiftly to a house in the Bokamoso area in Rustenburg, where they confronted the suspects at about 2 pm.

"Eight men and a woman were arrested at the scene. Three illegal firearms and ammunition, four suspected stolen vehicles, as well as cash robbed from the security guards in the morning were recovered during the arrest," Muridili said.

Some of the team members moved to the next location in Rustenburg North, where they arrested three men and confiscated an illegal rifle and ammunition as well as two suspected stolen motor vehicles.

In total, the police recovered four firearms and ammunition, cash and six suspected stolen vehicles during the arrests.

All 12 suspects, Muridili said, have at this stage been positively linked to the robbery at Zinniaville Shopping Complex.

"They will be facing possible charges that include robbery with aggravating circumstances, possession of illegal firearms and ammunition, possession of suspected stolen motor vehicles and possession of suspected stolen cash. The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation will be investigating this case further," said the police.

Sitole heaped praised on the team that traced and swiftly arrested the suspects.

"I am pleased with the hard work that went into apprehending the alleged robbers within a few hours after the robbery. CIT robberies are crimes that create fear in our communities.

"We will continue to counter the criminals' modus operandi and together with the banking and security industries, we will reduce this heinous crime and continue to stamp the authority of the State," said Sitole.

(With Inputs from South African Government Press Release)