A high-speed chase on Black Friday ended in the arrest of two suspects in Cape Town’s CBD.
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This comes after alert law enforcement auxiliary officers on patrol in Green Point noticed a suspicious vehicle in an area that had become the recent target of various ATM crimes, including card-swapping activities.
The officers began following the vehicle, but as soon as the occupants became aware, they set off at speed, trying to evade the officers.
Calling for additional backup, a high-speed chase ensued through Prestwich Street, into the CBD and into Bree Street, where additional units were able to successfully blockade the suspects’ vehicle.
Both suspects were quickly surrounded, but in their efforts to escape, they tried in vain to resist arrest.
However, officers overpowered them and successfully detained both a 38-year-old male residing in Kenilworth and his accomplice, a 34-year-old male residing in Gugulethu.
The rental vehicle that had been used in their getaway was found to be fitted with false number plates, and within their possession were several point-of-sale devices, along with two-way radios and a security cap as is often used to fool tourists into believing a scammer is in fact a legitimate security official.
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Both suspects were arrested at Cape Town SAPS under several charges, including possession of stolen property, fraud, reckless and negligent driving, resisting arrest and intimidation. A further search of the vehicle uncovered a calculator with double-sided adhesive tape still stuck to the underside, believed to have been used in a previous incident in Sea Point where the foreign tourist had been instructed it was a device they were obligated to enter in their card’s secret pin code.
Additional efforts are being made to link the suspects to several other registered cases, but this enforcement success shows the greater context of how criminals target the tourism industry in various forms within Cape Town.
‘A strong collaboration has been formed between the City’s enforcement services, the private banking sector and the South African Police Service, in the resistance against a worldwide increase of ATM related crimes,’ explained Mayco member for Safety and Security JP Smith.
‘More than this, our SSIU and our Strategic Information Management Services (SIMS) are working closer than ever before with the National Prosecuting Authority and the Specialized Commercial Crimes unit.’
‘This to ensure that those arrested face the full might of the law, a commitment to the local tourism sector as we recognize the vital role it plays in our thriving local economy.’
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Picture: JP Smith / Facebook