Almost three years after the alleged crime was perpetrated, the Gauteng police detained a 39-year-old man in connection with a jewelry warehouse heist on Monday, July 25.
According to Warrant Officer Bonnie Nxumalo of the Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigation (Hawks), armed robbers struck the jewelry warehouse on Ballyclare Drive, Sandton, on the evening of August 9, 2019.
The suspects reportedly used cable ties to bind the security guards on duty before entering the facility.
“They stole jewelry worth more than R26 million and fled the scene in their getaway vehicle. A case of business robbery was reported at the Sandton police station,” said Nxumalo.
After taking over the case, the Serious Organized Crime Investigation Unit of the Hawks in Germiston traveled to Soweto on Monday and arrested Mduduzi Nxumalo.
On Tuesday, July 26, the defendant made an appearance before the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on a charge of commercial robbery. He was remanded to detention until 1 August, when a formal bail application is anticipated from him.
The arrest of further suspects, according to the Hawks spokeswoman, is a possibility.