With a weekly two foreigners weekly followed from Johannesburg International Airport and robbed at hotels, SAPS Gauteng formed task-force - Reported by Nqobile Brian Mchunu -- At least two incidents, mostly involving foreign nationals, are reported to the police every week.
Bedfordview SAPS corporate communications officer, Sergeant Mduduzi Nhlabathi, said that on Saturday, May 25, more people were robbed coming from the airport.
“The people were coming from the airport just before 8pm. As they were getting to (the hotel) reception, four men approached them. They pointed a gun at them and stole their luggage valued at more than R300,000 and fled the scene,” Sgt Nhlabathi said.
The NEWS carries a story about these incidents every week.Gauteng SAPS, provincial head of corporate communications, Brigadier Neville Malila, said that the investigating team was assembled in August, last year.
“We have assembled a team of detectives who are looking at these airport robberies. We started investigating the trends in August last year. The investigators are looking at tendencies, days of the week with a focus on the identification of suspects,” he said.
Most of the people are robbed as they arrive at their destination but some are robbed on the highways leading to and from the airport and surrounding area.
http://www.looklocal.co.za/looklocal/content/en/bedfordview-edenvale/bedfordview-edenvale-news-crime?oid=7517780&sn=Detail&pid=217415&Team-looks-into-airport-robberies
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Former deputy minister followed from Johannesburg International airport and attacked at his Observatory home
The former deputy minister of finance, Mr Jabu Moleketi, was allegedly followed from the airport and robbed outside his home in Observatory on July 20.
The former minister was with his son when the incident occurred.
Two suspects jumped out of a vehicle and went to Mr Moleketis vehicle with firearms. Mr Moleketi managed to run to the house and called the police, said Constable Thabo Malatji from the Yeoville SAPS.
The men took cellular phones and luggage from the vehicle and fled the scene. This robbery is one of several incidents reported to SAPS where people were followed from the airport and robbed either at their homes or local hotels.
Some of the recent cases that were reported include the vice-consul of Angola and the delegation he was with, who were robbed at a hotel in Bruma.
The latest incident took place on Monday last week. A security guard was shot during a robbery at another hotel in Bruma. Constable Mpho Mashakane, Cleveland SAPS communications officer, said a man and his friend left the OR Tambo Airport to go to the hotel they were booked in. They drove into the premises and parked the car.
While offloading their luggage three men approached them and demanded their belongings.
When the robbers tried to exit the building, the security guard refused to open the boom gate. They shot him in the thigh and fled.
Looklocal also reported on several incidents of people being followed from the airport. At least two incidents are reported to police every week.
Provincial SAPS spokesperson, Brigadier Neville Malila, said that there is a task team investigating these crimes. Yet they continue to occur.
Mr Malila was contacted for comment and he referred looklocal to Lieutenant Colonel Lungelo Dlamini, spokesperson for the Gauteng SAPS.
At this stage it is not clear whether the former minister was followed from the airport but police will investigate that possibility. Investigations in the case of the former minister are continuing and no arrests have been made, said Lt Col Dlamini.
He said members of the Hawks investigate all cases involving people who are followed from the airport. Several people were arrested in the past, he said. Looklocal asked him if syndicates are involved in these incidents. At this stage this office is not aware of a syndicate operating from the airport, explained Lt Col Dlamini.
He said cases that were investigated in the past involved foreign nationals who alleged they were followed from the airport. There are police vehicles that are static on all major highways in the province. Therefore, police will respond to those incidents quicker, said Lt Col Dlamini.
http://www.looklocal.co.za/looklocal/content/en/bedfordview-edenvale/bedfordview-edenvale-news-crime?oid=7649152&sn=Detail&pid=217409&Former-deputy-minister-followed-from-airport-and-robbed
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