GEORGE NEWS - Three businesses in George were hit in a spate of armed robberies last weekend. Two of the men police suspect are linked to the armed robberies in town, Blanco and Pacaltsdorp appeared in the George Magistrate's Court on Monday.
Ntshingo Maziwanda (18) and Thonbani Ciyo (24), both from Thembalethu, were arrested on Sunday afternoon at a house in New Dawn Park, Pacaltsdorp. The suspects remain in custody until their next appearance next week. An ID parade was scheduled to take place sometime this week.
Captain Malcolm Pojie, Southern Cape Police spokesperson, said no guns or money were found on the suspects but they have enough evidence to link them to the armed robbery in Pacaltsdorp.
"The possibility that they were involved in the other robberies form part of our investigation. We are looking for the other suspects who are on the run," said Pojie.
The first robbery took place on Friday afternoon (22 May) at 14:20 at Coastal Hire in Nelson Mandela Boulevard. According to one of the managers, who does not want to be named, four men approached the business. "One of the men came in and inquired about the cost of a machine.
"He took a pamphlet and left. All of them walked towards the street. I continued with my work and when I looked up again, I looked straight into the barrel of a gun. One of the men came around the counter, threw me on the floor and demanded cash while holding the gun to my neck.
"They were very dark skinned and had a strange English accent. They took the money and sprayed pepper spray in my face before they fled."
The manager says video footage from a nearby petrol station shows the men jumping onto the back of a white Isuzu bakkie that was parked at the petrol station.
Later, at 19:50, five men armed with a gun and knife robbed the Blanco Bottle Store in Montagu Street. Following the same modus operandi one of the suspects pretended to be a client and left the shop, only to return minutes later with four other men.
They took all the cash from the tills and also stole three cellphones. The suspects removed the hardware of the CCTV camera before running from the shop.
Outside they hijacked a green Volkswagen Jetta and forced the 32-year-old driver out of the vehicle that was parked in front of a fish and chips shop. The vehicle was found abandoned at the brickworks in Thembalethu on Sunday.
On Saturday night 23 May at 21:00, at Savemor Tuckshop in Mission Road, Pacaltsdorp, four armed men struck again.
The robbers ordered the owner and clients at gunpoint to lie on the floor. When a female client walked in while the robbery was underway, she was also thrown to the floor and threatened with a gun. The suspects fled with cash, airtime and cigarettes.
As with the Blanco robbery, the robbers hijacked a bakkie parked outside the shop and fled. The bakkie was found abandoned shortly afterwards in Tarentaal Street, Pacaltsdorp, with only the stolen cigarettes inside.
Both the bakkie and the Jetta were sent to a laboratory for fingerprint analysis and forensic investigations.
Police have requested all business owners to be vigilant and requested smaller shop owners in residential areas to close their doors early in the evening.
Klik hier vir vorige nuusflitse:
Robbery no.1 - Coastal Hire in Nelson Mandela Boulevard at 14:20.
ARTIKEL: LIZETTE DA SILVA, GEORGE HERALD JOERNALIS.
'Ons bring jou die nuutste George, Tuinroete nuus'
