Four Hyde Park suspects arrested

<p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Soweto police have arrested four people for a robbery at the Hyde Park shopping centre this morning.<br /><br />Inspector Kay Makhubela said the four were arrested in Bram Fischer, Dobsonville, while they were off-loading computers stolen from a computer shop in the Hyde Park shopping centre.<br /><br />"They were found with six new computers, sound equipment and laptops," said Makhubela. Police also confiscated a firearm.<br /><br />"We suspect that they were involved in the robbery this morning," said Makhubela.<br /><br /><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414477475096909570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxOhqhhi_1DjxVN_nrK1D_FeSxJ4I977wvKwsiUOc1q0MNJE8nLEIxh3qKE-L-sLguc7pcmOpxnlpkyg9pBiDtKQb1Ux5I49YuMyiuo5Yk4sXRyrmaHvY7-Tw8vGLmjUv74ekp8W0AaSkO/s400/crime_sa_guns_pic300.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 120px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /><strong><span style="color:#990000;">A gang of 15 robbers armed with AK-47 assault rifles broke into Hyde Park shopping centre, north of Johannesburg, on Thursday morning.</span></strong><br /><br />"Around 4.30am, about 15 suspects broke the security door at the entrance and entered the shopping centre. They shot at security guards who shot back at them," said Inspector Moses Maphakela.<br /><br />Maphakela said the robbers, wearing balaclavas and gloves, stole an unknown amount of clothing.<br /><br />He said that while some of the gang members broke into the shop, others fired shots at the security guards. "The police are searching for 15 suspects; these people are armed with AK-47s, R5s and pistols."<br /><br />They sped off in a silver Mercedes-Benz C200. Its back windscreen was shattered in the shooting. The other getaway cars used were a white Honda Ballade and a silver grey double-cab Ford Ranger. </span><p></p>

Four Hyde Park suspects arrested

Soweto police have arrested four people for a robbery at the Hyde Park shopping centre this morning. Inspector Kay Makhubela said the four w...

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Mall robberies: "It's worse than you thought"

<p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">25 mall robberies a month in South Africa</span></strong><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghi0Rs2D5AsGQWYBIZOjGWuEBgWR-cFoomBDtEUB69gTqXu5C0q8qjcIAMXThkAb4f5siNVuSL5svDjUoMb6sCjNTLp8e1t6asYg_lNuYxJPAaP9CvRcelKO8dYA0WRzFCzbl6YZHVIuo/s1600-h/AK47.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5387404975594300434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghi0Rs2D5AsGQWYBIZOjGWuEBgWR-cFoomBDtEUB69gTqXu5C0q8qjcIAMXThkAb4f5siNVuSL5svDjUoMb6sCjNTLp8e1t6asYg_lNuYxJPAaP9CvRcelKO8dYA0WRzFCzbl6YZHVIuo/s400/AK47.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 251px" /></a>AK47-wielding gangs, terrified shopkeepers, worried landlords - the scary truth.<br /><br />South Africans love shopping malls, not just for buying stuff but as places to relax and hang out with friends. Until now, they have been seen as relatively safe compared to the other options. There are seldom beggars and thieves loitering in parking areas and pick-pockets are relatively few and far between, unlike many public areas in our crime-infested country where it has become normal to anticipate a confrontation with a dangerous criminal armed with a knife, gun or other weapon.<br /><br />But shopping centres have had their reputations as safe havens smashed in recent weeks, thanks to the ruthless armed gangs who have moved into their shiny, air-conditioned hallways, shooting those who get in the way of their spoils.</span> <p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Gauteng malls have been hardest hit, but shopping centres elsewhere haven't escaped this growing trend of robberies. At Canal Walk, Century City, in Cape Town, a mall employee was shot and wounded by robbers </span><a href="http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_2498463,00.html"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">in April</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> and a restaurant employee was </span><a href="http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_2514400,00.html"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">shot and injured in May</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> in a robbery.</span></p><p><a href="http://www.realestateweb.co.za/realestateweb/view/realestateweb/en/page197?oid=46399&sn=Detail"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Earlier this month</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> two security guards were shot and wounded at the Trade Route Mall in Lenasia.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">In the first week of August </span><a href="http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=13&set_id=1&art_id=vn20090807125650283C467563"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">there were at least five</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> incidents involving armed gunmen at Gauteng shopping malls including at the Bracken City Mall, Alberton, where a gang of about 20 robbed a Pick 'n Pay supermarket, a bottle store and a pharmacy within a few minutes. The robbers, apparently armed with handguns, worked through tills and ordered customers and shop attendants onto the ground, before getting into a shoot-out with Ekurhuleni Metro police officers as they were making a get-away. One officer was injured. </span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Tragically Jaco Pretorius, managing director of Protea Coin Security's guarding division, died in hospital after allegedly being shot while trying to stop three robbers who had just hit a Sterns jewellery store at the Irene Mall Village, Centurion.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">And, so the list goes on, of one shopping mall "hit" after the next.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">How worried should shoppers and shop personnel be about the likelihood of getting caught up in a robbery? In </span><a href="http://www.realestateweb.co.za/realestateweb/view/realestateweb/en/page197?oid=46869&sn=Detail"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Gauteng in particular</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> visible law-enforcing has been stepped up by the South African Police Service and mall security officials with a view to deterring robbers from trying their luck. "Police will be given more firepower and more visibility after a spate of robberies at shopping malls, the Gauteng Department of Community Safety has said.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">"The SA Police Service has resolved to increase police visibility at the crime hotspots, including shopping malls. The SAPS has also promised to arm policemen and policewomen tasked with curbing business robberies with heavy calibre automatic weapons. This will help to match and outmatch the firepower of criminals," it said.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Michael Broughton, director of the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa and SA Council of Shopping Centres, </span><a href="http://www.realestateweb.co.za/realestateweb/view/realestateweb/en/page197?oid=46869&sn=Detail"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">told Moneyweb's editor-in-chief Alec Hogg on the SAfm Market Update with Moneyweb this week</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> that similar steps were being taken elsewhere. He reckons that, from a shoppers' perspective, " statistically your chance(s) of being involved in one of these (incidents) are very, very small - 4 800 malls throughout South Africa open 365 hours a year, 12 hours a day".</span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">A different picture, however, was painted by Des de Beer, managing director of listed property fund Resilient </span><a href="http://www.moneyweb.co.za/mw/view/mw/en/page296058?oid=2221&sn=2009%20Detail&pid=296058"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">(JSE:RES)</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> - which owns shopping centres - to a group of investment analysts in Cape Town this week. Responding at question time, De Beer admitted robberies have become a big headache for the country's large retail property landlords and that many of the incidents have not even been reported in the media.<br /><br />De Beer said he was having a cup of coffee in a mall when a gang of about eight people "came through" the centre wielding AK-47s. In another incident, recounted to him by another listed company boss, a gang drove into an upmarket Johannesburg mall in an unsuccessful bid to rob a jeweller.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">He said shopping centre owners have been talking to each other about the problems and it seems jewellery stores have become a major magnet for violent criminals.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">"The big problem is jewellery stories. It's the high-end jewellery stores. It is just not worth having jewellery stores," he commented to analysts. De Beer said shopping centre owners are working with police on ways to curb violent crime at malls and understand that when it comes to security "we'll have to keep upping our game".</span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">SAPS spokesperson Superintendent Eugene Opperman confirmed to </span><a href="http://www.realestateweb.co.za/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Realestateweb</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> - Moneyweb's property news site - that not all shopping mall robberies have been reported to the media.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">In part, this is because there is a theory in some quarters that successful robbers given other criminals ideas to follow suit. And, police don't want to give too much of the game away when it comes to apprehending culprits and preventing other robberies. Criminals, says Opperman, "read newspapers and plan accordingly".</span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">It is likely too, though, that landlords discourage police officers from disclosing robberies to the media as it does not reflect well on them in the eyes of their tenants in terms of their crime prevention measures. And, retail landlords often receive a percentage of shops' turnover. Violent incidents must surely be a deterrent to consumers.</span></p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.360news.co.za/south-africa/30-Sep-2009/165402-20-man-gang-hits-mall.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">20-man gang hits mall</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><a href="http://www.360news.co.za/south-africa/29-Sep-2009/165312-twenty-gunmen-storm-shopping-complex.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">Twenty gunmen storm shopping complex</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><a href="http://www.360news.co.za/south-africa/16-Sep-2009/160206-gunmen-flee-after-mall-raid.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">Gunmen flee after mall raid</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><a href="http://www.360news.co.za/south-africa/16-Sep-2009/160173-armed-gang-25-robs-shopping-centre.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">Armed gang of 25 robs shopping centre</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><a href="http://www.360news.co.za/south-africa/30-Sep-2009/165431-cops-launch-manhunt-17-gunmen.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">Cops launch manhunt for 17 gunmen</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><a href="http://www.360news.co.za/south-africa/02-Sep-2009/153780-cops-arrest-suspected-mall-robbers.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">Cops arrest suspected mall robbers</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><a href="http://www.360news.co.za/south-africa/30-Sep-2009/165551-a-four-year-old-girl-was-kicked-face.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">'A four-year-old girl was kicked in the face'</span></a><br /><a href="http://www.360news.co.za/south-africa/17-Apr-2009/98679-gang-15-hits-shopping-centre.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">Gang of 15 hits shopping centre</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span></p><p><a href="http://www.360news.co.za/south-africa/17-Sep-2009/160510-25-strong-gang-robs-mall-shops.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">25-strong gang robs mall shops</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><a href="http://www.360news.co.za/south-africa/07-Aug-2009/143417-mall-robbery-plague-continues.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">Mall robbery plague continues</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><a href="http://www.360news.co.za/south-africa/30-Sep-2009/165787-gunmen-on-run-after-mall-robbery.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">Gunmen on the run after mall robbery</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><a href="http://www.360news.co.za/africa/30-Sep-2009/165586-south-africa-police-launch-manhunt-armed-robbers.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">South Africa: Police Launch Manhunt for Armed Robbers</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><a href="http://www.360news.co.za/south-africa/03-Sep-2009/154533-gang-pepper-sprays-brakpan-man.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">Gang pepper-sprays Brakpan man</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><a href="http://www.360news.co.za/south-africa/23-Jul-2009/136655-4th-robbery-4-months-mall.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">4th robbery in 4 months at mall</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><a href="http://www.360news.co.za/south-africa/09-Apr-2009/95854-staff-reeling-after-robbery.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">Staff reeling after robbery</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><a href="http://www.360news.co.za/south-africa/08-Apr-2009/95405-armed-robbery-canal-walk.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">Armed robbery in Canal Walk</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><a href="http://www.360news.co.za/south-africa/11-May-2009/107786-man-shot-canal-walk-robbery.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">Man shot in Canal Walk robbery</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><a href="http://www.360news.co.za/south-africa/07-Sep-2009/155961-man-killed-ct-armed-robbery.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">Man killed in CT armed robbery</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><a href="http://www.360news.co.za/south-africa/24-Jul-2009/137126-mall-raiders-favour-jewels-currency.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">Mall raiders favour jewels and currency</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><a href="http://www.360news.co.za/south-africa/08-Jul-2009/130149-canal-walk-guard-didn-t-flee-during-robbery.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">Canal Walk guard 'didn't flee during robbery'</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><a href="http://www.360news.co.za/south-africa/09-Apr-2009/95772-traumatised-staff-reeling-after-robbery.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">Traumatised staff reeling after robbery</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><a href="http://www.360news.co.za/south-africa/23-Jul-2009/136700-canal-walk-robbed-again.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">Canal Walk robbed again</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><a href="http://www.360news.co.za/south-africa/23-Jul-2009/136579-cape-town-mall-robbed-again.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">Cape Town mall robbed again</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><a href="http://www.360news.co.za/south-africa/19-Jul-2009/134700-jewellery-shop-robbed.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">Jewellery shop robbed</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><a href="http://www.360news.co.za/south-africa/19-Jul-2009/134701-menlyn-robbers-grabbed-taxi.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">Menlyn robbers 'grabbed a taxi'</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span></p><p><a href="http://www.360news.co.za/south-africa/17-Apr-2009/98588-gunmen-storm-woodmead-shop.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">Gunmen storm Woodmead shop</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><a href="http://www.360news.co.za/south-africa/22-Apr-2009/100328-three-custody-after-armed-robbery.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">Three in custody after armed robbery</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><a href="http://www.360news.co.za/south-africa/02-Apr-2009/93234-man-nabbed-armed-robbery.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">Man nabbed for armed robbery</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><a href="http://www.360news.co.za/south-africa/19-Jan-2009/63674-cops-hunt-clothing-store-gang.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">Cops hunt clothing store gang</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span></p>

Mall robberies: "It's worse than you thought"

25 mall robberies a month in South Africa AK47-wielding gangs, terrified shopkeepers, worried landlords - the scary truth. South Africans lo...

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Mall gangs hit again

<p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">Restaurant owner pistol-whipped in latest robbery</span></strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFsxI6rNBQTPbsfqIsiOKvwkArhKqY0NlLAVmtCjNoYFrm6pqXtJkwLLRb6FzZ26PZ1w-Ve6IRwyEgdo7dOE3IPvIlVknOAFLfOSWDaYI6q2KjFXztLsrEsvpWWtJjqyr72nz9an_mXWQ/s1600-h/pleasedontshootthepianoplayerlarge.gif"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371057294331934930" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFsxI6rNBQTPbsfqIsiOKvwkArhKqY0NlLAVmtCjNoYFrm6pqXtJkwLLRb6FzZ26PZ1w-Ve6IRwyEgdo7dOE3IPvIlVknOAFLfOSWDaYI6q2KjFXztLsrEsvpWWtJjqyr72nz9an_mXWQ/s320/pleasedontshootthepianoplayerlarge.gif" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 192px" /></a><span style="color:#000000;">ANOTHER Gauteng mall has been targeted by armed robbers and there are fears that the syndicates will infiltrate other provinces.<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;color:#000000;">A restaurant at the Core shopping centre, in Sunninghill, northern Johannesburg, was robbed on Saturday night. Robbers made off with an undisclosed amount of cash and terrorised restaurant owner Karen Dodkins and about 30 of her customers.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><a href="http://www.thetimes.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=1051029"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Brazen mall robbers caught on camera</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><a class="entry-title-link" closure_hashcode_2k7ipa="420" href="http://www.thetimes.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=1051166" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Businessmen robbed at Pretoria mall<br /></span></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Safety and security ministry spokesman Hangwani Mulaudzi yesterday said that the robbers, who have been targeting Gauteng shopping malls for the past two weeks, have been identified as members of a syndicate that could operate anywhere in the country.<br /><br />Alarming figures from the Consumer Goods Council have shown that 25 malls were targeted last month alone. An urgent crime indaba takes place today, at which the council will discuss a report about the surge in mall robberies.<br /><br />The robbery at Grumpy’s Pub and Grill on Saturday night brings the total to 26. Customers were left traumatised after robbers made off with cellphones and an undisclosed amount of cash. Dodkins was pistol- whipped.<br /><br />President Jacob Zuma and high- ranking police have spoken out about the mall robberies.<br /><br />Malaudzi said: “We have not focused only on Gauteng. Police and other departments are on high alert in other provinces and are ready to deal with these robbers. We will get them,” he said.<br /><br />Frank Dodkins said his former wife, Karen, was traumatised after four robbers armed with pistols and knives entered the restaurant after 11pm. “They took Karen to the cash registers and pistol-whipped her, demanding money. Once they got the money, they forced her to show them the safe, which she did, before they fled on foot,” he said.<br /><br />In the past two weeks, three people have been killed and eight wounded in a surge of shopping-centre robberies in Gauteng. Last month, robberies were reported at 25 shopping malls around the country, according to the Consumer Goods Council of SA. On Tuesday, a guard was shot dead and another seriously wounded by armed robbers at the Trade Route Mall, in Lenasia. Two suspects were arrested on Friday. </span></p>

Mall gangs hit again

Restaurant owner pistol-whipped in latest robbery ANOTHER Gauteng mall has been targeted by armed robbers and there are fears that the syndi...

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