A gang believed to be responsible for over 300 cases of robbery as well as stabbings in Verulam CBD has been arrested and will be profiled to see if they are linked to any other incidents reported in the area.
The trio, who were tracked down by Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA), are believed to have robbed and stabbed victims for months before a planned operation led to their capture. RUSA spokesperson, Prem Balram said: “After interviewing several victims and viewing CCTV footage from several businesses in the Central Business District, Reaction Officers singled out three men who were the perpetrators. These officers kept observation over the area frequented by these suspects since the early hours of Thursday morning. The gang was spotted entering the Verulam CBD after sunrise. They remained close to the bush on the R102 near the bus rank for several hours and entered Moss Street at 10.47am.”
He said the officers kept observation and called for additional back-up. “The officers converged on the area blocking off all entry and exits and one suspect was arrested at the corner of Moss and Ireland Street. The remaining two suspects fled towards the bus rank in an attempt to flee into the bush. They were intercepted by Reaction Officers stationed at that point,” said Balram.
He said all three suspects were found in possession of knives and stolen bank cards. “The white t-shirt of the kingpin was found with blood stains. A 19-year-old victim that was stabbed identified the three men as the perpetrators that had attacked and robbed him. Reaction Unit SA has attended to approximately 300 cases of robbery, stabbings and related crimes in the Verulam CBD since January 2022,” added Balram.
According to RUSA during an interview, one suspect confirmed that he was present during a robbery which involved a stabbing. “He further informed Reaction Officers that he had not stabbed the victim but had benefited R150 in cash from the sale of the stolen phone. He blamed the other two suspects for attempting to kill the victim, said Balram.
All three suspects and recovered weapons were handed over to the SAPS. Provincial police spokesperson, Constable Thenjiswa Ngcobo, confirmed the arrests and said: “The suspects will be profiled to determine if they can be linked to any criminal activities in the area.”
Prané Ramdass Soni, Public Relations Officer for the Verulam CPF, said the Verulam CBD being an economic hub has becomes a lucrative location for opportunistic thieves. He said communities can help get rid of criminals by reporting the whereabouts of known suspects to SAPS, local security firms or the CPF.
“They should also volunteer information about where the stolen goods are being disposed of. People need to know that, not only is the buying of stolen goods a crime, it’s also creating a market for these thieves and encouraging them to continue on this path. When the perpetrators appear before the court, the court needs evidence of the type of criminal they are dealing with in order to impose an appropriate sentence. A lot of criminals are tried as first-time offenders simply because crime is not being reported. People are deterred from reporting crime because it is time-consuming and onerous, but it will benefit our communities as a whole if these crimes are treated seriously,” said Soni.
