Armed Cigarette Robbers Caught in Cape Town with Cartons Worth Thousands

Armed robbers – who thought they had hit the jackpot today when they stole cigarettes worth tens of thousands of rands from a Cape Town CBD convenience store – were promptly nabbed by Cape Town Central City Improvement District’s (CCID) Public Safety Officers and arrested by SAPS (SA Police Service).

The robbery happened in broad daylight at Friend’s Café on the corner of Long and Castle streets when three men stormed into the store and held up the shopkeeper at knifepoint.

In South Africa, the purchase of cigarettes and alcohol has been banned under Lockdown regulations. The country is currently under Level 4 restrictions, having transitioned on Friday from Level 5.

The suspects stole three bags packed with cigarette cartons, two cell phones, cash and a watch.

Minutes after being alerted to the robbery, CCID Public Safety Officers gave chase and caught two of the three suspects, whilst also recovering all the stolen goods.

The officers then called for assistance from SAPS, who arrived on the scene with lightning speed and cordoned off the area, according to a media release by CCID.

CCID manager of Safety & Security Mo Hendricks commended the CCID PSOs and SAPS for apprehending and arresting the suspects.

“It was a fantastic arrest. I’m proud of the diligence of the CCID PSOs in protecting people in the CBD as well as possessions especially during this period. The SAPS also deserves high praise, especially Captain Richard Lourens, as the crime scene was cordoned off within minutes of the police being alerted by our PSOs to the incident.”

The suspects were arrested and taken to Cape Town Central Police Station.

Cape Town CBD Crime has Decreased

According to Hendricks, crime across all categories has “decreased dramatically” in the Cape Town Central City since the national lockdown was enforced on 26 March 2020, and thanks to their revised lockdown strategy, CCID is able to respond quickly to a crime such as the one today, and “manage to catch the suspects”.

Recent statistics released by CCID Safety & Security revealed that crime in the CBD had dropped by 76 % since the lockdown began. Only 35 crimes were recorded from 27 March 2020 to 15 April 2020, compared with 151 crime incidents during the same period last year.