SAPS Mount Road detectives arrested a suspect allegedly involved in a business robbery within hours after the robbery was reported on Saturday 13 July 2024.

It is alleged that at approximately 16:55, two suspects wearing masks entered a petrol station in Cape Road in Newton Park and threatened the cashier with a firearm. An undisclosed amount of cash and 70 packets of cigarettes were taken. During the robbery the panic button was activated and on arrival of the private security company, the suspects jumped into a white VW polo and drove off in the direction of Cotswold. The driver of the vehicle lost control and landed in bushes in Highfield Road. They alighted and fled.

During further investigation, it was alleged that the vehicle was hijacked on Saturday 13 July 2024 at approximately 17:45 at the corners of Mati and Uitenhage Roads in New Brighton and that the complainant was busy opening a case at SAPS New Brighton. SAPS Mount Road members went to New Brighton and requested the complainant in the hijacking and his friend to accompany them to SAPS Mount Road for further investigation. During the investigation, the friend aged 38-years-old was positively identified as one of the suspects involved in the robbery and was arrested and detained on charges of business robbery.

The VW Polo, cigarettes that were taken during the robbery and an empty firearm magazine were confiscated.

The suspect will appear in the Gqeberha magistrate court today, 15 July 2024.