A crowd of onlookers applauded as police arrested three alleged members of the notorious crowbar gang in Wynberg yesterday.
The suspects were nabbed in busy Main Road, following a car chase all the way from Murdock Valley in Kirstenhof, where they had allegedly robbed a house.
A woman, who works nearby, says the bustling Main Road came to a complete standstill when cops pounced on the suspects.
“The men stopped their car [a silver VW Polo] in busy traffic and tried to get away on foot,” she explains.
“They ran towards Wynberg train station when they were apprehended by police.”
She says several shops immediately shut their doors, fearing looting.
“We could see all the action from our building; it was like a movie. People were happy and clapping hands as police arrested these guys,” she adds.
“Some of the shops closed because of fear of theft.
“They looked neat, you would never say they’re criminals.
“We heard they robbed a bank close by.”
However, police spokesman, Captain FC van Wyk, says this was not the case.
“A VW Polo was spotted at a residential premises in Murdock Valley and all police were alerted to the fact that the house had been broken into,” he says.
“Members of the SAPS Flying Squad found the vehicle in the Wynberg area and gave chase which led to the arrest of three males.”
He says police found several items in the car, believed to have been stolen from the house in Murdock Valley.
Police are investigating a possible link between this gang and another bust in Kirstenhof earlier yesterday.
Van Wyk says members of the K9 Unit pulled over a car on Steenberg Road after discovering it had false number plates.
Cops found three men and a flat screen television in the car, possibly stolen from a burgled house in Da Gama Park.
“The fact that all these suspects were in the same area has been considered, but at this time there is no direct link with regards to the two groups arrested,” says Van Wyk.
All the suspects are being detained at Simon’s Town SAPS.