[imagesource:twitter/yusufabramjee]

Someone made a fortune this Father’s Day.

A gang of heavily armed thieves stormed a jewellery store in the East Rand Mall in Boksburg yesterday, running off with a bag full of gold and diamonds worth millions of rand.

The Gauteng police have been on a manhunt for the robbers, with two of the eight suspects already in the hands of police after a high-speed chase that ended at Alexandra township, News24 reported.

The suspects are accused of holding the employees of the jewellery store at gunpoint and cleaning off the shelves before fleeing with a massive bag and trolly full of loot. A police source said that the stolen treasure was worth several millions of rand.

CCTV footage captured the brazen robbers fleeing the busy mall with their bag of goods, which Yusuf Abramjee posted on Twitter:

Robbery at East Rand Mall. pic.twitter.com/Qty55ret0j

— Yusuf Abramjee (@Abramjee) June 18, 2023

According to Gauteng police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Mavela Masondo, the suspects opened fire randomly as they fled the mall before jumping into getaway cars and speeding off. That’s when mall security and police tried to capture them to no avail, leading to the high-speed chase:

“The high-speed chase continued until Alexandra, where one of the getaway cars was cornered and one suspect was arrested,” said Masondo.

He added: “The suspect led the police to two houses in Alexandra, where the second suspect was arrested and three other getaway cars were recovered. The suspects were found with two rifles, a pistol, ammunition, and explosives.”

Preliminary investigations revealed that one of the getaway cars, an Audi A4, was hijacked in Limpopo early this year, Masondo added.

The six other suspects are still at large and the jewellery is still missing.

If they are caught, they, along with the two others in custody, will be charged with business robbery, possession of unlicensed firearms and possession of a suspected hijacked vehicle, among other crimes.

[source:news24]