A video of brazen skelms robbing a jewellery store at Blue Route Mall within 90 seconds have emerged and has gone viral.
The Winhall & de Stadler Jewellers outlet was targeted by five men on Monday afternoon, and a security camera video shows one walking in with a hammer hidden in a bag and suddenly smashing a glass cabinet.
The thieves push back an elderly woman into the shop and clear the cabinets within a minute and a half before fleeing.
Two of the skelms were nabbed when they crashed their getaway car at Retreat Station a few minutes later.
On Wednesday, Siviwe Mkina, 24, and Lizo Mangana, 28, of Brown’s Farm in Philippi, made their first appearance at the Wynberg Magistrates’ Court on a charge of business robbery.
Police spokesperson, Sergeant Noloyiso Rwexana, said a charge of hijacking might be added to their charge sheet after investigations pointed out the vehicle, a white Toyota Corolla, had been hijacked earlier that day.
Cops found the stolen jewellery inside the car.
Rwexana said the three skelms who got away are still on the run, but wouldn’t comment further saying the case was at a sensitive stage.
She would also not declare if the gang formed part of a larger syndicate which had been targeting malls across Cape Town in recent weeks.
The court case was postponed to 18 September for the duo’s formal bail application.
The drama unfolded on Monday just after 1pm when a tall black man walks purposefully into the jewellery store and suddenly smashes a glass cabinet.
Two shocked store assistants, standing behind the cabinet, threw their hands up in the air while an elderly customer tries to escape the drama, but is shoved back by the other skelms who enter.
The first skelm continues to smash glass cabinets while his accomplices start collecting the jewellery in a large bag.
The three women move to the back of the store - out of the camera’s range - as the four men loot the winkel with another keeps guard at the store entrance.
An off-duty cop in the mall chased after them but they got away only to be caught by cops a few minutes later.
The 1.33 minute-long video was shared nearly 2000 times on Facebook on Wednesday, with over 300 comments from shocked and outraged users.