TWO ARRESTED FEW HOURS AFTER SOMALI SHOP ROBBERY

The Ivory Park Station Commander, Brigadier David Mbongeni Ngcobo, has welcomed the swift arrest of two suspects just few hours after the commission of a business robbery in Ivory Park.

The two suspects, aged 27 and 35, were part of a five man group who drove into Ivory Park on Monday morning, robbed a Somali shopkeeper and shot and injured a bystander as they were fleeing the scene. Shortly after the robbery the suspects ran into an Ivory Park SAPS patrol van and, without warning, fired at the officers. The police returned fire but the suspects managed to get into their getaway vehicle and fled from the scene. One of the suspects was shot on the leg but he managed to get into the vehicle with the help of his accomplices.

Shortly after the description of the vehicle was given, members of the Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department found the vehicle in Esselen Park, about 10 kilometres away, with the driver and the shot suspect. The two were arrested and the injured suspect was taken to hospital for treatment, under the police guard.

“The speed with which these two were arrested will send a clear signal that escaping from one policing precinct to another doesn’t mean criminals are now out of reach. This was a classic example of the proverbial arm of the law,” said Brigadier Ngcobo.