Post office worker bust with three accomplices in tiny Karoo town

There's no quick getaway in a town so small that everyone knows everyone, as four suspects now behind bars have discovered.

The group, aged between 23 and 49, were arrested within hours after the Somerset East post office was robbed at midday on Friday, the police said in a statement.

Two of the three suspects were arrested as they were crossing the river bank on their way to a hiking spot on the N10 national road.

The suspects were found in possession of three firearms with live ammunition which were confiscated.

Further information led the police to another suspect at Bongweni locality in Cookhouse. Upon searching the premises, the suspect was found in possession of an undisclosed amount of money.

The final arrest took place in Somerset East where one of the post office employees was arrested.

All four suspects will appear soon in the Somerset East magistrate's court on charges relating to possession of suspected stolen money and possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition.

According to StatsSA, there are just over 3,700 households in the small Karoo town of Somerset East.

The Eastern Cape provincial commissioner, Lt Gen Liziwe Ntshinga, commended officers from various units - including those deployed from neighbouring towns - who joined forces to track down the suspects.

"When we co-ordinate our operations, swift results are achieved. These arrests are an indication that police throughout the province are on high alert, even in our rural and semi-urban towns," she said.