Independent Newspapers
A police stake-out in Park Rynie on the South Coast on Monday night saw a suspected notorious criminal and his accomplice caught red-handed while cutting the electric fence of a home they were about to rob. File photo: Boxer Ngwenya
Cape Town – A police stake-out in Park Rynie on the South Coast on Monday night saw a suspected notorious criminal and his accomplice caught “red-handed” while cutting the electric fence of a home they were about to rob.
Police spokesman Thulani Zwane said the operation was led by the Shongweni K-9 unit, in conjunction with a private investigator.
The two men had been linked to several violent burglaries and hijackings in Durban’s upper Highway area, police said.
Zwane said the pair held up a family at gunpoint and robbed them in Botha’s Hill on Monday.
That night, at about 11pm, two policemen saw them driving towards Park Rynie and contacted the Shongweni K-9 dog unit, which deals with violent, dangerous criminals.
A policeman who was at the scene when the two were arrested said they were “carefully” followed by police in unmarked cars.
The men parked near a complex without suspecting that police were watching them.
“We wanted to catch them in the act and add it to the crimes they are linked to. We wanted a strong case,” the policeman said.
When the police saw them working on the wiring of the complex, they moved in. The officer explained that robbers often did this to “lure” homeowners outside so they could attack them at gunpoint.
“They were surprised when we caught them in the act,” he said. Both were smoking the drug crystal meth, which is known to give a lasting high and sense of infallibility.
After being told to hand themselves over, the two tried to run to their car, but the police had blocked it off. The robbers then tried to run down the road but were brought down by police dogs. They were arrested and are being held at the Hillcrest police station.
The men were found to be in possession of a gun, five cellphones, a Garmin GPS, a Taurus pellet gun, a CD player and a car radio, all suspected to have been stolen. Balaclavas, gloves and “housebreaking implements” were found in the car they were travelling in.
Zwane said the two were wanted for a host of crimes.
Reacting to the arrests, Kerry Nightscales wrote on Facebook that one of the men had drugged her and she had been “out” for three days.
“I’m thankful for the true friends that helped me out of it and got rid of him. He’s a meth addict with serious issues!” she said.
Wayne Sudding said of the arrests: “Fantastic, as he terrorised Botha’s Hill in the early hours of Sunday.”
The Westriding patrol and response team put out this notice about one of the men on Facebook: “He has been involved in a number of violent home attacks and house robberies in the upper Highway area. Do not approach him.”
The Mercury
