A Mamelodi man has been arrested for burgling the home of Gauteng police commissioner Lieutenant-General Mzwandile Petros, police said yesterday.

In a bizarre coincidence, the homes of both Petros and of former national police commissioner Jackie Selebi were burgled at the weekend.

Petros's Bryanston home was burgled on Friday night and Selebi's, in Waterkloof, on Saturday night.

Yesterday, national police commissioner Bheki Cele said: "The swift arrest of one suspect in connection with the case of Petros underlines our commitment to deal with such criminality with utmost effectiveness."

Brigadier Neville Malila said the suspect in Petros's burglary was arrested on Saturday night after police and private security personnel patrolling the Bryanston area reacted to a house alarm on Roux Road.

Housebreaking equipment was found in a silver grey Mazda 3 and the Petros family later identified some of the stolen items in the car as theirs.

"The suspect was arrested and two of his accomplices fled the scene. Preliminary investigation at the crime scene has shown similarities to the [method] used at the burglary at the provincial commissioner's house," Malila said.

The vehicle had been reported stolen in Brooklyn. The suspect had a warrant of arrest issued by a Wynberg magistrate after skipping bail granted in connection with a previous housebreaking incident.

Police have also established that the suspect was wanted for housebreaking in Mamelodi and Sandton.

The man will appear in the Wynberg Magistrate's Court today on charges of house robbery and theft, as well as housebreaking and theft. Malila said the police would oppose bail and ask for the case to be postponed for further investigation.

At Petros's home, the burglars stole a plasma television and other appliances. He was not at home at the time, but his wife was. They fled when she activated the alarm.

At Selebi's home, according to Lieutenant-Colonel Tshisikhawe Ndou, burglars lifted the gate off its rail to gain entry. He said the thieves took a plasma television set, a laptop and foreign coins.

Selebi was not at home at the time, but his wife arrived to find a Volkswagen Golf parked outside at 6.30pm. No arrests have been made.

The acting chairman of the local Community Policing Forum, Danie Basson, said "Things could have turned worse" if Selebi's wife had surprised the burglars.

He said house robberies in the area were sporadic.

"Criminals move to another area when police focus on what they regard as a hot spot. There is no particular trend but community policing is paying off."

The guard room previously occupied by police VIP protection officers at Selebi's house stood empty yesterday. - Additional reporting by Sapa