One of the robbers terrorising cyclists who use the Woodstock bridge to get in and out of Cape Town met his match Saturday morning when his target happened to be a police officer.
SAPS spokesperson Andrè Traut said that Lt Col Johan Pentz, who is an avid cyclist, conducted an operation with Woodstock Crime Prevention Unit, and patrolled the notorious route along the Lower Church Street bridge on his bicycle.
Pentz did this to gain first-hand information about the robberies, while his backup team was in the vicinity.
“While crossing the Woodstock Bridge, Lt Col Pentz was attacked by a suspect who managed to grab his cellular telephone pouch, which was in his back pocket, and flee on foot. He was pursued by Lt Col Pentz and apprehended not far from the crime scene,” Trout said.
“The 34-year-old foreign national also had a tablet in his possession that he could not account for.”
The suspect was detained on charges of robbery and the possession of presumed stolen property, and is expected to make his court appearance in Cape Town on Monday.
“SAPS and other law enforcement agencies will continue with integrated operations in the area in a bid to neutralise the threat, and in the meantime, cyclists making use of this route are cautioned about the robberies and encouraged to ride in groups and be alert of their surroundings at all times,” Trout said.
This follows a massive integrated operation between SAPS and other law enforcement agencies at the end of January which led to 18 undocumented individuals being arrested.
Cyclists have been well-known to use this route during the summer months as they train for the Cape Town Cycle Tour, which takes place in March.
Neil Robinson, CEO of Pedal Power Association, said that they welcome the most recent arrest, and that they have noticed an impact the arrests have made.
“The interventions that law enforcement have seemingly made a significant change in behaviour around the affected areas. We’re very satisfied and we’re very grateful to the officials for the work that they have done to bring these criminals to book.
“We will be monitoring the situation long term around whether these interventions in fact change criminal’s behaviour, but we welcome the recent interventions.”