YOLANDE DU PREEZ
Easter Monday might have been a day of rest for the country but for the Hout Bay SAPS, Community Crime Prevention (CCP) and Deep Blue Security it was all work and no play with four arrests made on the day.
While CCP vehicle one was busy apprehending two suspects who had just robbed a couple in the Sandy Bay car park at gunpoint, an Italian photographer who was taking photographs on the beach was robbed by two men, one of whom was armed with a knife.
CCP chairman, JJ De Villiers said the photographer became uncomfortable when he realised the two men were watching him and as he packed up and left, they made their move.
He was robbed of a backpack, his cellphone, an undisclosed amount of cash and some cosmetics.
None of his camera equipment was taken.
Mr De Villiers said while booking the two suspects at the Hout Bay police station, he was notified that the photographer’s cellphone signal had been traced and they made their way up the mountain on Castle Road where they followed the signal as the suspects made their way down the slopes.
The two were later arrested on the corner of Gibraltar and Sluysken roads with the help of Deep Blue security who were patrolling the area as well as the Hout Bay SAPS.
“The suspects were restrained and all the stolen goods, including the cash were retrieved,” he said.
Police spokeswoman, Warrant Officer Tanya Lesch confirmed the arrests and said the suspects were charged with armed robbery and possession of stolen goods.
She said they appeared in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.
