Last week Saturday (20/07) I became one of the victims of armed robbery on N17 East (towards Springs) at around 16h00; just off Wemmer Pan Road. I had to stop to check what I thought was something wrong with the car. The next thing a firearm yielding thug was at the window and was then joined by 5 more on the other side of the car. They took cellphones, cash and laptop. As I started driving, the highway patrol police squad emerged and I stopped them. They had seen the thugs running from my car and said they thought I had given them a lift. Whilst one of the 2 police men was eager to give an immediate chase, the other was reluctant and argued prospects of getting the thugs were slim given the nature of area they disappeared into. But ultimately they did go and check; called a chopper and dog unit which responded relatively quickly. But it turned out to be too little too late. However, I was really impressed by the dog unit men in blue who risked their lives and got into the forest to do search operation, though they drew blank. The local police station where I opened the case, Moffatview, sounded resigned to the reality that southern Joburg was fast becoming the next Hillbrow in so far as crime incidence was concerned. While I was excited of prospects of ambush and trap strategies, not necessarily to recover my items but to prevent possible loss of life in future, I got advice from the police: “motorists should be careful; particularly as they join N17 from Wemmer Pan and Heidelberg Roads”. And a grievance: “human resource constraints”. After all is said and done, am glad to be alive!!
Posted on: Sat, 27 Jul 2013 17:00:16 +0000
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