Four armed skelms probably thought they were pulling off the heist of the century when they robbed a well-known jewellery store in Paarl, but were quickly stopped in their tracks.
The four men entered the Sterns jewellery store in Lady Grey Street on Tuesday where they threatened staff and patrons with a fake gun.
The suspects made off with an undisclosed amount of jewellery and cellphones.
However, they were quickly nabbed thanks to the swift action of a local security company in the Central Business District who cornered the first dief in Der Lingen Street and recovered some of the stolen goods.
According to a source, the other three suspects fled in a car to a community in Paarl East. But upon seeing the skelms being chased, the community joined in.
The source says one suspect dumped the stolen jewellery at a property in Hillside.
The source tells the Daily Voice: “One of the suspects was chased by members of the community after they [the community] saw police were chasing after him.
“After he drove into a dead end, he fled on foot and dumped the jewellery at a property. He was caught by a member of the community with the help of the police.
The other two suspects were also arrested by members of the police and were found in possession of an undisclosed amount of jewellery.
One of the suspects is believed to be a local from Drommedaris in the Drakenstein municipality.
Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi confirms: “On Tuesday, at about 9.30am the armed suspects entered the premises and threatened the staff and locked them in a room. The suspects fled the scene with a consignment of jewellery and valuables.
“One of the suspects was arrested by security personnel in Van Der Lingen Street, and in the process recovered some of the stolen items.
“Three other suspects were pursued by members of Paarl SAPS and were arrested in the Paarl East when they were found in possession of an undisclosed amount of jewellery.
“Once charged the suspects are expected to make a court appearance in the Paarl Magistrate’s court on a charge of robbery.”
Kirsten Hewett, Head of Group Communications for The Foshini Group (TFG) says staff members are receiving trauma counselling and the store was closed for the day.
She says: “Thankfully no one was harmed during the robbery and our store team is receiving trauma counselling to support them through this experience.
“All of the stolen goods were recovered and our dedicated TFG Forensics Team is working closely with the SAPS in their investigation to ensure convictions.”