Seven people were arrested in Epping after the SAPS K9 unit arrived at the scene of a planned robbery.
|||Cape Town - Police foiled the armed robbery of a cigarette delivery vehicle in Epping 2 on Wednesday, arresting seven suspects following a tip-off.
The SAPS K9 Unit learnt that the occupants of three cars intended to rob the vehicle near Bofors Circle on Wednesday.
They arrested the occupants of a BMW, VW Microbus and a Ford Meteor, six men and a woman, aged between 25 and 35, police said.
One suspect was caught after a brief chase, and in possession of a 9mm firearm.
The suspects were in possession of illegal firearms and were arrested for further questioning. Their possible involvement in other armed robberies was being investigated.
In April, armed robbers targeted a delivery truck transporting cigarettes on New Street, Durbanville.
The driver, the lone occupant of the truck, was held at gunpoint and ordered to drive to nearby Skilpadvlei Street. There, the hijackers unloaded cartons of cigarettes and put them into a getaway vehicle, a white Isuzu LDV. They then fled the scene, according to police.
However, the Isuzu was intercepted by a security company, alerted by the firm which owned the hijacked vehicle. The guards tried to stop the vehicle but opened fire after the hijackers drove off.
Minutes later, the Isuzu crashed into a Golden Arrow bus on Durban Road.
Security officers managed to arrest the three suspects on the scene.
chelsea.geach@inl.co.za
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Cape Argus