Gang terrorising suburbs nailed
|Published
22/11/2013 Head of Crime Line, Yusuf Abramjee outside his home after him and his family were held at gunpoint at their home in Erasmia. Picture: Phill Magakoe 22/11/2013 Head of Crime Line, Yusuf Abramjee outside his home after him and his family were held at gunpoint at their home in Erasmia. Picture: Phill Magakoe
Pretoria -
Laudium and Erasmia residents can now live in peace - police have arrested three men who have been terrorising them, robbing houses and stealing vehicles at gunpoint.
The robbers were nabbed after a police operation by a crack team of investigators. They used CCTV footage of two of the robbers taken during a shoot-out at Crime Line head Yusuf Abramjee’s Erasmia home on Friday, as well as tip-offs to Crime Line and Crime Stop.
Two of the suspects are believed to be out on bail pending investigations into other cases.
The Abramjee family escaped unscathed after the brazen robbers opened fire on them while fleeing in the family’s BMW after demanding its keys.
The men were arrested for a spate of house robberies, burglaries and hijackings in the area.
Police are also investigating the possibility of linking them to other attacks around Pretoria.
A further charge of extortion has been levelled against the suspects because they allegedly tried to buy the case docket relating to Abramjee’s robbery from a police officer.
A crack team of investigators made up of the Hawks, national investigation unit, cluster tracing units, the Gauteng flying squad, reservists and Erasmia SAPS, as well as investigators from Tracker, assisted in the sting operation.
It led to the arrest of the three suspects in Atteridgeville on Monday - just three days after the attack on the Abramjee family.
Police spokesman Brigadier Neville Malila said no special treatment was given to this case - the investigation was treated like any other.
“Two of the suspects have been positively linked to the house robberies in Erasmia, one of them being the home of Yusuf Abramjee, but the initial complaint came in before he contacted police.
“On Friday, police were busy with their normal special operations, thus a lot of police were deployed around that area, including the air-wing. When police gave chase after the suspects, foiling their house robbery in Senorita Street, they called in for back-up, and all units responded,” he said.
Malila said four robbers were involved in the house robbery in Senorita Street, but the group split up in pairs. The duo who struck at Abramjee’s house were caught on CCTV footage.
Following intense police investigations, the multidisciplined task team pounced on the suspects.
Malila said two of the suspects were arrested at the Attlyn Mall in Atteridgeville. Follow-up operations led police to the third suspect.
Police are not ruling out the possibility of more arrests.
“Police recovered three stolen vehicles (a Mini Cooper, Nissan 1400 bakkie and an Audi RS4) at the homes of the suspects.
“Earlier, police seized a Mercedes-Benz C class hijacked in Laudium, and Abramjee’s BMW that was taken at gunpoint.
“Two illegal firearms and ammunition were also seized. Police confiscated several items stolen by the suspects,” Malila said.
A source confirmed that an access card to Claudius Security Village was found among the items in the suspects’ possession.
Meanwhile, investigators are looking into the possibility that police officers were assisting or protecting the suspects.
Malila, however, downplayed this, saying the investigation was still at an early stage and “there was nothing to suggest police involvement at this stage”.
Acting Gauteng police commissioner Lieutenant-General Lesetja Mothiba praised the officers for the arrests. “We congratulate the team for their hard work and the breakthrough. These suspects are being linked to several cases in Pretoria. This is once again an indication that policing cannot be done by the police alone. We need community participation,” Mothiba said.
Abramjee also thanked the police for their swift action.
“We must now ensure that the suspects are convicted and punished. The police have been most professional. Crime Line also thanks the public for passing on information anonymously. It appears this gang is linked to scores of cases and we urge the public to continue blowing the whistle on criminals,” Abramjee said.
The suspects, aged between 22 and 37, face charges of armed robbery, possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition, stolen property and extortion. They are due to appear in court on Wednesday.
Pretoria News