Quick response: Three suspects caught after robbing woman in Verulam
RUSA spokesperson, Prem Balram, said, “The controller on duty liaised telephonically with the police official, who confirmed that the vehicle was exiting a service station on Ireland Street in the Verulam CBD.”
Three suspects, accused of robbing a 24-year-old female, were apprehended in the Verulam CBD on Monday afternoon, after they were spotted travelling in a brown Datsun Go.
Verulam SAPS spokesperson, Cnst Bongiwe Ngocbo, said, “Police officials from the Road Traffic Inspectorate (RTI) were transporting the victim from their offices in Umdloti to the Verulam SAPS, in order to register a criminal case, when the female spotted the three suspects, travelling in a vehicle together.”
ALSO READ: Daring robbery foiled as police arrest two men
It is established that the RTI officers contacted Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) for assistance in intercepting the vehicle transporting the suspects.
RUSA spokesperson, Prem Balram, said, “The controller on duty liaised telephonically with the police official, who confirmed that the vehicle was exiting a service station on Ireland Street in the Verulam CBD.”
From the intel gathered, RUSA members and the RTI officers converged on the vehicle and restrained the three occupants.
“One of the accused is a 16-year-old teenager. The suspects denied having knowledge of the incident, but the complainant was adamant that the men were the same individuals she met earlier in the day when she visited the Labour Department in Durban Central. After she was done, she met the driver of the Datsun Go. He informed her that he provides an e-hailing service. She requested a ride to Matubatuba, and the male agreed to transport her. When she entered the car, there were two other individuals in the vehicle. The driver informed her that they were his friends,” explained Cnst Ngcobo.
ALSO READ: Joint efforts lead to arrest of armed robbery suspect
It is believed that one of the men produced a firearm as they travelled north on the N2 freeway, before robbing the woman of her cellphone and handbag containing her identity card and her mother’s death certificate.
Balram added, “They thereafter dumped her on the roadside. The female walked to the RTI offices where she sought assistance. The suspects were handed over to the SAPS for further investigation.”
