Suspects held for weekend robberies set free
What was believed to be a breakthrough into a string of house robberies in Nelson Mandela Bay was short-lived when five of the six men arrested at the weekend were set free yesterday.
But as the charges against Sisanda Dayimani, Mfundo Jafta, Luthando Tokwana, Masixole Dlova and Xolani Ngova were withdrawn due to a lack of evidence, the police confirmed that Zola Alla could face more charges as his possible involvement in other criminal operations in and around the city is investigated.
The six men were arrested in Walmer Township on Saturday, shortly after two robberies in Fairview and Pinelands, respectively.
Nelson Mandela Bay has, over the past few months, been plagued with an increase in house robberies by different gangs — some of them deemed extremely dangerous.
The police were therefore lauded for the arrests on Saturday.
However, in the Gqeberha magistrate’s court yesterday, five of the men were told they were free to go, while Alla remains behind bars as he awaits a date for a formal bail application.
The police are also looking to link him to other recent crimes in the vicinity.
Dayimani, Jafta, Tokwana, Dlova, Ngova and Alla were arrested in the early hours of Saturday after they initially avoided being caught.
However, after a victim was forced to drive one of the alleged robbers home, the police were able to narrow down their search and managed to arrest the men.
Alla faces preliminary charges of house robbery and possession of suspected stolen property.
Police spokesperson Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg said more charges could be added as the investigation unfolded.
“Detectives are looking into [the] suspect to determine whether [he] can be linked to other criminal operations,” she said.
“At this stage, we cannot confirm [his] involvement in other matters, but the investigation is still in the early stages and more information will come to light as it continues.”
The robberies occurred in the early hours of Saturday, with the first taking place shortly after 1am.
The homeowner and his wife had woken up in their Fairview home to four men, armed with knives, standing in their bedroom.
They were threatened and tied up, and the house was ransacked. However, the intruders were interrupted when patrolling police found them passing a TV over the fence of the Mimosa Street home.
Some fled on foot, while others fled in a VW Golf, which almost crashed into the police vehicle.
They allegedly escaped with cellphones, jewellery and electronics.
A stone’s throw away, in Pinelands, a woman woke up at about 3.30am when an intruder shook her awake and ordered her to give him a ride
from her Leipoldt Street home to Walmer Township.
Upon being forced into her car, she found it had already been loaded with many of her belongings.
He ordered her to stop in Victoria Drive and she managed to speed off, unharmed, as the suspect was offloading her property from the car.
She reported the matter to the police, and patrolling officers narrowed their search to the vicinity where she had left the suspect.
While canvassing the surrounding area they found a vehicle at a house in Samule
Street which matched the description of the VW Golf that had fled from the first scene.
Janse van Rensburg said additional police units were called to the scene and they executed a tactical operation that saw them surround the house and arrest the six men.
Cellphones, TVs, jewellery and other goods allegedly taken during the robberies were recovered.
Police also allegedly found drugs and a replica firearm at the scene.
Alla will remain in custody until Tuesday next week when a date for a formal bail application will be arranged.