Police arrested four men after a robbery, on Friday morning, at a Fish Hoek computer shop.
Four men entered Creative Computers in Main Road, at 11am, pointed guns at the owners, tied them up and ransacked the shop, according to police spokesman Warrant Officer Peter Middelton.
The robbers fled in a rental car that was later spotted on the M5 and pulled over by the police following a pursuit.
Laptops, computers, cellphones and various computer accessories were recovered, said Warrant Officer Middelton.
Police also found two gas pistols in the car.
The suspects appeared in the Simon’s Town Magistrate’s Court on Monday March 1 on charges of robbery.
Warrant officer Middelton said no one was injured during the robbery and the investigation was ongoing.
Creative Computers owner, Win Caplen, said he was grateful for the police’s swift response.
“The incident happened at 11am and by 4pm they had recovered all our stolen goods,” he said.
He was not in the shop at the time, but he said one of the robbers had posed as a customer, then held the security gate open for his accomplices.
“We are thankful that no-one was injured and very grateful that police have arrested the suspects and our goods have been recovered,” he said.
On Sunday February 21, at 8.30am, six armed men held up the Glencairn KwikSpar.
According to provincial police spokesman Captain FC van Wyk, Spar staff and customers were robbed of jewellery and cellphones. Two staff were tied up with cable ties and locked in the office. The robbers fled in two vehicles and are still at large. No serious injuries were reported.
KwikSpar co-owner Sean de Wet said it is a family business and his mother had been on duty on the day of the robbery. The men had been armed with knives and a gun and his mother and a cashier had been left traumatised, although they had been helped by police counsellors.
Anyone with any information can call Simon’s Town SAPS at 021 786 8649 or Crime Stop at 08600 10111.
Later on the same day, police arrested three suspected hijackers after a high-speed chase on Boyes Drive.
In a statement, the Lakeside Community Watch said the Boyes Drive incident was unrelated to the KwikSpar robbery as had been claimed on social media.
The vehicle, which had been hijacked in Ottery at 1pm on Sunday February 21, had been spotted near The Toad on Boyes Drive, travelling towards Muizenberg. A high-speed chase had ensued and the vehicle had spun out of control, after hitting at least three other vehicles, and had come to a stop above St James where three men had been arrested.
Provincial police spokesman Colonel Andrè Traut said one suspect had been injured in the crash and other two had been injured while trying to flee from police dogs.
Three men appeared in the Muizenberg Magistrate’s Court on Monday February 22 in connection with the incident.
