Arrests have been made in connection with an armed robbery of an Uber driver in Belgravia, Athlone, which occurred on 24 December.
The suspects had been identified as belonging to the IGB gang in Hanover Park but had not been seen in the area since the video of the incident had gone viral.
Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith released a statement earlier today notifying the public of the suspect’s arrest.
The City of Cape Town Safety & Security Investigations Unit (SSIU) was requested to assist, information gathered by SSIU on 3 January indicated the suspects were hiding out in Mitchell’s Plain and were traced to a park in the area.
En route to Athlone SAPS, investigators tracked the victim’s phone and proceeded to the premises, the stolen phone was retrieved and booked in as evidence.
Alderman JP Smith stressed the urgency of addressing the severe constraints on SAPS investigative resources:
‘It is an accepted fact our investigative resources with SAPS 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 Special Investigative Unit (SIU), to the Safety and Security Investigative Unit.
‘Currently, this unit is limited to only providing assistance for investigating occurrences within our directorate, or which originate from our own action. Or when officially requested to assist our SAPS.’
Alderman JP Smith states that he is determined to succeed in his request for investigative authority to be able to better assist SAPS in helping to bring criminals to book and ensure they are suitably prosecuted.
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Picture: Screenshot of video
