Pretoria – National Police Commissioner General Riah Phiyega says she is pleased by the work done by a task team established to crack down on gangs involved in robbing cellphone shops in Gauteng and the Western Cape.
According to police, last year the two provinces experienced an increase in armed robberies targeting shops selling cellphones and other ICT service providers.
The police said the ever increasing demand for these gadgets in countries such as Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Tanzania played a role in the surge in these crimes.
General Phiyega then instructed that a task team be formed of detectives, crime intelligence officers, the Gauteng War Room and other government partners such as the National Prosecuting Authority and cellular phone providers to investigate the robberies.
According to the police, so far more than 30 suspects belonging to three different groups operating in Cape Town and Johannesburg and are involved multiple armed robberies are behind bars and are awaiting trial in courts across the country.
“We are fully aware that the people involved in the commission of these robberies are some of the brazen criminals any police officer or a business person can ever encounter. They have shown a propensity to shoot their way out of any situation without due regard for life.”
She expressed concern that majority of the suspects accused in the robberies were out on bail on similar offences.
General Phiyega has cautioned the task team against being a false sense of comfort as there are still other gang members who are still at large.
Gauteng was the hardest hit as it suffered a staggering 58 percent of the robberies. – SAnews.gov.za
