Camps Bay Neighbourhood - Up To Date

GOTCHA! Suspects flushed out

Police discovered the gang's hide-out, a cave with "food and cooking utensils" where the men - who are suspected of several other robberies in the area - had hidden the stolen laptops, jewellery, cellphones and watches valued at about R17, 0000.

Police were alerted to a break-in at 1am yesterday.

The three suspects - dressed in black clothes and balaclavas and armed with rocks and knives - entered the home and demanded the items from the owners before fleeing to the nearby cliffs.

Colonel Dorothy Xesha, Hout Bay Police station commissioner, said: "At about 7am, the trackers saw them coming out of the sea [after attempting to hide from the police].

"Members of the Hout Bay police immediately cordoned the area off to stop them escaping to the main road," she said.

At first light, the dog unit, a police helicopter and the National Sea Rescue Institute began combing the windswept cliff for the suspects.

Police found one of the men, who was shot in both arms and his right leg "after attacking one of the police officials with a knife", said Warrant Officer Tanya Leash.

For about 30 minutes, the police and curious members of the public leaned over the roadside barricade and stood on rocks, anxiously trying to catch a glimpse of the two remaining suspects, while other members with police dogs struggled to make their way down the slippery cliff face.

A shout of "Ons het hulle!" (We've got them!) went up.

The two damp and badly cut suspects, who were handcuffed to each other, were dragged up the cliff face by three police officers.

Some of the Hout Bay police immediately recognised one of them, and started cheering, calling out "Ja, Mr ICD".

Xesha said that this was because the man had previously been suspected of robbery, but had been released because the police "did not have sufficient evidence" to charge him.

"Then he told the ICD [Independent Complaints Directorate] that he had been assaulted, when it never happened," said Xhesa.

The men, who are reportedly Namibian, aged between 28 and 29, will appear in the Wynberg Magistrate's Court on Monday.

Allan Delbridge of the community organisation Coastal Security Services called the operation "a brilliant piece of police work".

TRACKERS CORNER ROBBERS IN CAVE

Police trackers worked through the night to get to robbery suspects, following a trail from Llandudno to their hide-out in a Camps Bay cave.

Police believe the gang of three living in Imizamo Yethu is responsible for a spate of violent house robberies in Hout Bay, Llandudno and Camps Bay.

They were arrested after a dramatic seven-hour search operation. Police spokesman Tanya Lesch said they shot a 29-year-old suspect thrice in his right leg and arms when he tried to stab an officer.

The police's visual trackers were alerted after three men armed with rocks and knives attacked a home

in Llandudno at 1am yesterday, said Lesch.

The men, wearing balaclavas, demanded items from the home owners. They fled with items valued at R170 000, said Lesch.

After a search lasting seven hours three trackers found footprints leading to the suspects in a small dark cave below Victoria Road in Camps Bay.

Lesch said when police arrived the trio resisted arrest by running to the sea and attempting to swim away. Minutes later they returned to shore. Dogs were sent by the K9 Dog unit and the suspects handed themselves over after hearing the barking.

Hout Bay and Camps Bay police and a police helicopter assisted in the operation.

In the cave, police found suspected stolen goods, including items from the Llandudno home, included laptops, cellphones, jewellery, watches and an iPod.

Police suspect the men lived in the cave for some time and used it as a base to rob wealthy homes.

Netcare 911 spokeswoman Lauren Copley said the wounded suspect was treated on the scene by paramedics.

The suspects appear in the Wynberg Magistrate's Court on Monday on house robbery charges.

This article applies to: Middle, Rontree 1, Rontree 2, Glen, Bakoven, Village, Clifton, CPF