A 22-year-old skelm will appear in the Bellville Magistrate's Court this morning after he was caught trying to rob a taxi full of passengers in Delft on Friday.
The man, who says he is from Mitchells Plain, was still in the taxi when he was cornered by wakker cops shortly after 8am.
Delft communications officer, Warrant Officer Brian Daniels, and Victim empowerment coordinator, Denzil Williams, were conducting a crime prevention patrol along Delft Main Road when they spotted what appeared to be a fight between passengers.
Frantic passengers told Daniels that the taxi had just been robbed by a gun-wielding skollie.
Daniels says: “We found the man inside with the firearm in his hand and arrested him. He says he is from Mitchells Plain but we still have to verify that.
“The driver and taxi guard told us that the man got into the taxi like a normal passenger and went to sit at the back next to the schoolgirl.
“The guard noticed that the man was robbing the girl and intervened.
“The driver stopped the taxi and they fought with him and that’s when we passed.”
The man was arrested and charged with attempted armed robbery and illegal possession of a firearm.
Further investigations revealed that the 9mm Norinco firearm and magazine had been reported stolen in Gansbaai in 2016.
Blue Downs Cluster Community Police Forum (CPF) chairperson, Reginald Maart, says boewe often target taxis in Delft.
“Delft Main Road is a hotspot for these skollies. First they start with taxing the taxi drivers but when they see the taxi driver only has a little money, they rob the passengers,” he says.
“We are very happy with this arrest and the officers did well to catch them and it is one less gun on the streets.”