Three alleged gang members who were allegedly involved in an armed robbery targeting an Uber driver in Athlone on Christmas Eve have been arrested.
Safety and security MMC JP Smith said: “On December 24 an Uber driver was the victim of an armed robbery in Belgravia, Athlone. A criminal case was opened by police but on January 1 the City of Cape Town's safety & security investigations unit (SSIU) was requested to assist,” said Smith.
“By January 2 the suspects had been identified as belonging to the IGB gang in Hanover Park, but had not been seen in the area since a video of the incident had gone viral,” said Smith.
According to Smith, critical information emerged on January 3 which led investigators to Mitchells Plain, where the suspects were believed to be hiding.
“Information gathered indicated the suspects were hiding in Mitchells Plain and they were traced to a park in the area. While relaxing with refreshments, all the suspects were surrounded by the SSIU and taken into custody,” said Smith.
Further investigation led police to the stolen property.
Cape Town’s safety and security investigative unit nabs 'gang members' linked to e-hailing robbery
Three alleged gang members who were allegedly involved in an armed robbery targeting an Uber driver in Athlone on Christmas Eve have been arrested.
Safety and security MMC JP Smith said: “On December 24 an Uber driver was the victim of an armed robbery in Belgravia, Athlone. A criminal case was opened by police but on January 1 the City of Cape Town's safety & security investigations unit (SSIU) was requested to assist,” said Smith.
“By January 2 the suspects had been identified as belonging to the IGB gang in Hanover Park, but had not been seen in the area since a video of the incident had gone viral,” said Smith.
According to Smith, critical information emerged on January 3 which led investigators to Mitchells Plain, where the suspects were believed to be hiding.
“Information gathered indicated the suspects were hiding in Mitchells Plain and they were traced to a park in the area. While relaxing with refreshments, all the suspects were surrounded by the SSIU and taken into custody,” said Smith.
Further investigation led police to the stolen property.
“On route to Athlone investigators gathered information about who the victim's phone had been sold to. Proceeding to the premises, the stolen phone was retrieved and booked in as evidence,” Smith noted.
Smith highlighted political challenges faced by the investigative unit.
“It is an accepted fact our police investigative resources are severely constrained, and as a municipality we have been steadily building our own internal investigative capacity. This was met with severe criticism by the previous police minister and the GOOD party, prohibiting the city from holding any investigative capacity and forcing the name change of our SIU to the safety and security investigative unit.
“The unit is limited to providing assistance for investigating occurrences within our directorate, or which originate from our own action, or when officially requested to assist our police,” said Smith.
“We are determined to succeed, and if we are granted investigative authority as we are requesting, we can readily assist police to help bring criminals to book and ensure they are suitably prosecuted.”
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