Police have arrested four men for an attempted burglary in Loevenstein.
Bassett Alarm security officers spotted a white Hyundai minibus in Stellenberg on Friday May 19 that had been linked to the attempted break-in two days earlier. Bellville police spokeswoman Warrant Officer Henrietta van Niekerk said the security officers followed the minibus and alerted the police.
Captain Tobie Engelbrecht and Warrant Officer JP Smit responded and pulled the minibus over.
“Inside the vehicle, they found a crowbar and socks that they believe the suspects put over their hands to hide fingerprints whenever they break into houses,” said Warrant Officer Van Niekerk.
The four men, aged between 26 and 34 and from Khayelitsha and Nyanga, were arrested for attempted housebreaking.
Police are investigating possible links to other cases.
* A camera shop in Durban Road was robbed on Thursday May 18 at about 11am.
Three men, two of them carrying guns, took cameras and camera equipment before fleeing in a BMW and a bakkie.
Warrant Officer Van Niekerk said a witness had fired several shots at the getaway vehicles.
* Bellville police are investigating after a man’s body was pulled from the water at Tyger Waterfront on Thursday May 18.
The police arrived on the scene at about 11.30am, after receiving a call from someone who saw the body floating in the water.
Warrant Officer Van Niekerk said CCTV footage showed the man sitting on a ledge earlier that morning, greeting people walking past him.
“After it got quiet, he just jumped in,” she said.
* The Hawks have arrested a former South African Revenue Service (SARS) employee for defrauding the tax collector to the tune of almost half a million rand.
Hawks spokesman Captain Lloyd Ramovha said the man had allegedly submitted fraudulent tax returns to SARS on behalf of private individuals from 2011 to 2014, while employed at the SARS Bellville branch.
“He would then charge a fee on the amount reimbursed to taxpayers,” he said.
SARS is said to have suffered losses in excess of R430 000 as a result. The man, who was arrested on Wednesday May 17, is expected to appear in the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Tuesday May 30 on fraud-related charges.