East London police arrest three after botched Vincent store robbery

Police arrested three suspects for robbery and recovered a firearm after a failed robbery in a clothing franchise store in Devereux Avenue, Vincent in East London on Tuesday morning.

Police responded to a crime scene, where five suspects allegedly entered the store and pointed the staff members with firearms before robbing them of their cellphones, according to police spokesperson Nkosikho Mzuku.                                        

Staff from a local security company were on patrol near the clothing franchise and spotted the suspects trying to flee away.                                                                                         

The security company, Red Alert Electronic Security said their response teams “noticed something was wrong as the shop front was closed”.

Red Alert regional manager Brett Harvey said: “Our officers circled the building and upon further investigation found it to be an armed robbery in progress with six armed suspects. The suspects, seeing our officers, fled the scene into a nearby mall and down the road from the premises. Our officers gave chase and apprehended three suspects, with stolen goods in hand and two firearms with multiple magazines filled with ammunition were found. Our team also managed to stifle their getaway plan, which resulted in our team recovering the getaway vehicle.”

Mzuku said a chase led to the arrest of the three suspects, and the recovery of the firearm and the getaway vehicle. He said two more suspects managed to flee and police are searching for them.

Anyone who might be able to assist with information that could lead to the arrest of the other two suspects can contact the investigating officer, Detective Captain Leonie Peters of Cambridge SAPS on 043 708 7500, or on 071 475 2112, or phone Crime Stop on 08600 10111.