Swift robbery: Eight armed men target Tongaat jewellery store in under two minutes

Police are still searching for eight men who robbed a Tongaat jewellery store in under two minutes on Thursday. 

Prem Balram, spokesperson for the private security company Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA), said the men had been observing the store for a while and as soon as a customer came through the slam lock gate, the first robber rushed into the store. 

The store’s CCTV footage shows one of the men holding open the gate and pointing his firearm at a man standing in the store, presumed to be a customer. A staff member behind the counter raised his hands while four other men rushed in.

One of the men jumps over the jewellery display cabinet. The men begin breaking the glass on the cabinets and remove items before loading them into bags. The customer and two staff members were unharmed. 

To watch the video click here: 

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One of the robbers attempts to open one of the cabinets, and when he fails with his hand, he then kicks the glass and walks away.  A few seconds later, another robber stood at the same cabinet and broke the glass, successfully grabbing what he could from inside. 

Tongaat SAPS is investigating a case of business robbery. An undisclosed amount of jewellery was stolen. Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Paul Magwaza said that no arrests or recoveries were made.

Balram stated that RUSA responded to reports of a robbery in progress. Upon arrival, it was confirmed that the suspects had already fled the scene in two vehicles, a grey Toyota Rumion or Suzuki Ertiga. He confirmed that no injuries were reported.

Aidan David, chairperson of the eThekwini District Police Board, said the video footage was an eye-opener for the community and business at large to financially support Community Policing Forum (CPF) structures. 

David said a similar modus operandi was conducted by criminals in house robberies. He said this has been curtailed because of the prevalence of CPF structures working in conjunction with the local police and private security companies. 

“If businesses can come onboard and support the CPF structures, then they will get additional support. The policing forums are made up of volunteers and are non-profit organisations,” he said. 

David urged the business community to form a partnership with the CPF. 

“It is sad that when we go to a business for assistance, the doors are closed, but when we have incidents of this nature, everyone wants to ask about the CPF presence. They need to become participants rather than complainants.

“Our visibility and numbers on the streets are far greater than those of the SAPS. Let us learn from this robbery and build a partnership,” he said. 

zainul.dawood@inl.co.za