The vigilance of a Parow resident led to the arrest of four suspected crowbar burglars at a house in Frans Conradie Drive on Friday March 3.
Sergeant André Steneveld was on patrol when a resident told him about an orange BMW, whose occupants had stopped, removed the number plates (CAW 19605) and placed them in a drain. The car had then headed to a house in Frans Conradie Drive.
Sergeant Steneveld found the number plates in the drain and confirmed by radio control that they had been linked to a housebreaking in Stellenberg Street, Durbanville. He went to the house in Frans Conradie Drive, and, while scouting at the back wall, saw the orange BMW in the yard.
Parow police spokesman Captain Kevin Williams said back-up from the station and the Flying Squad had arrived. Three of the four men had tried to flee, dropping a bag of jewellery, but all four were arrested.
In the house, police found two bicycles and a plasma TV on a table. In another room, they found a Samsung Plasma Curve TV not plugged in or mounted on the wall and 16 mandrax tablets.
The BMW now had false number plates on with registration CX30VN GP. In the car, police spotted a green bag with a crowbar, a pick, a big black bag, a srewdriver, a sledgehammer and four pairs of gloves.
When police later searched a room where one of the suspects was staying, they found a bag with R11Â 600, a gold wristwatch, a silver Fossil wristwatch, licence papers from a Toyota Hilux bakkie, a Canon zoom lens, a Dell laptop and keys for an Audi.
Later, police searched a Mini Cooper in front of the house, where they discovered a pair of gloves and four computer hard drives.
The men were set to appear in the Bellville Magistrate’s Court on Monday March 6.