Burglary suspect nabbed within 24hrs, R100,000 in cash recovered |19 February 2014

A burglary suspect was arrested within 24 hours and R100,000 in cash have been recovered, the police have reported.

On February 11, 2014 at 2143hrs, the police received a report that an apartment had been burgled into and a laptop bag containing approximately R98,000 in cash and €250, as well as a car phone and memory card had been stolen.

The incident, which occurred in the vicinity of Victoria, was reported by the occupant of the apartment who is as well the owner of the items.

The Central Police Station dispatched a police dog (K9) unit to the scene. The team were later supported by officers from the Criminal Investigation Division (CID).  

After gathering information, it was understood that a possible suspect had been observed in the vicinity of the crime scene earlier and prior to the incident.

Following on from the report and leads obtained, on February 12, 2014, officers from the police dog (K9) unit located and detained a male subject suspected of having been involved in the burglary the night before.
 
A search of the person uncovered the sum of R2,000 on his person. Being unable to account for how he came to be in possession of the cash on hand and matching a description given of a suspect at the scene of the burglary, he was brought to the CID office for further questioning.

As a result of ongoing investigation and interviews by CID members‚ the subject, now a suspect in the matter, agreed to show the officers where the money from the burglary was hidden, taking the detectives to his home where he pointed out a place near a dog kennel located on the property. Tucked away under a pile of grass cuttings was a yellow plastic bag in which contained the money reportedly stolen from the apartment the night before.

Cash totalling R100,000 was seized by the police as a court exhibit.

The investigation continues, with the suspect remaining in police custody after being remanded by the court.

The police members involved have all been praised for their diligent work by their superior officers, with the Commissioner of Police‚ Ernest Quatre, taking the opportunity to advise members of the public against keeping large amounts of cash without adequate safeguards or measures in place, such as a well secured and fortified safe with alarm siren or linked to a monitoring station.
 
It is of course always better to deposit large amounts of cash safely in a bank or other financial institutions, where safeguards and security measures are already present.

As always members of the public can report suspicious persons or activities to the police’s anonymous line by dialling 133. Life threatening emergencies can be made by dialling 999.