Grahamstown police officers and a local security company saved the day after a quick-thinking businessman was attacked at gunpoint by two men. He was robbed of an undisclosed amount of money, early on the evening of Saturday 25 May.
Grahamstown police officers and a local security company saved the day after a quick-thinking businessman was attacked at gunpoint by two men. He was robbed of an undisclosed amount of money, early on the evening of Saturday 25 May.
The businessman was reversing his vehicle when two men approached. One was armed with a revolver.
The businessman acted quickly and pressed his panic alarm before the men reached him.
Fingo Village residents gathered near the Chan Henry store shortly after the police had apprehended the two men aged 23 and 30.
Hi-Tec armed response and police responded quickly and when Grocott's Mail arrived at the scene, two men were handcuffed, lying face-down next to a residential building in Albert Street, while police officers and security guards combed the area for clues.
Stunned residents at the scene said they had seen armed response vehicles rushing to the scene.
"I don't know what happened there and I don't know those guys. I'm just trying to get a closer look at their faces, but it's hard to see them from here," one bystander said.
Curious residents hoping to catch a glimpse of the two suspects tried in vain to get close enough to see the men in the dark area, where they lay on their bellies.
In a media statement released on Monday, police spokesperson Captain Mali Govender said the incident occurred around 7.10pm on Saturday.
She said the two men had allegedly ordered the businessman to get out of his vehicle.
The victim's name is not yet known to Grocott's Mail.
Govender said the businessman was bound with cable ties and ordered to show them where the safe was. "They took him to a store room where the safe was and took an undisclosed amount of cash," Govender said.
Hi-Tec security company response officers were first to arrive, and they apprehended the two men. Govender said shortly thereafter police arrived at the scene and all the stolen property including cash was recovered.
"A revolver with six rounds of ammunition was seized," Govender said.
The businessman was not hurt during the incident.
The two men appeared in the Grahamstown Magistrate's court on Tuesday on a charge of business robbery.
Read more in Grocott's Mail on Friday 30 May.
