Police in Pretoria have foiled a bank-following robbery‚ arresting five suspects and recovering a vehicle allegedly linked to a previous business robbery.
Police spokesman Captain Mavela Masondo said the arrests of the five men‚ aged between 35 and 45‚ in Pretoria West on Wednesday were the result of an intelligence-driven operation.
“Information about a planned bank-following robbery led the police initially to Attelyn Mall in Atteridgeville and then to Pretoria West where the first vehicle tested positive during a stop-and-search‚ while police recovered a firearm‚ magazine and ammunition‚ and subsequently arrested two suspects. The vehicle is linked to a previous business robbery committed in Benoni in June.
“A second vehicle was also followed and three suspects were arrested‚” Masondo said.
He said the suspects would appear before the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Friday to face charges of conspiracy to commit a robbery; possession of vehicle utilised in the commission of a business robbery; and possession of an unlicensed firearm‚ magazine and ammunition.
Bank-following robberies are instances when criminals follow victims from banks after they have drawn money and then rob them.
