Police have arrested six suspected muggers after a woman was pepper sprayed and robbed in Rondebosch.
The suspects, whom police suspect are linked to a similar crime in Fish Hoek, appeared in court on Monday, on robbery charges, following their arrest last Friday.
According to Rondebosch police spokesman, Warrant Officer Lyndon Sisam, they robbed a woman of her smartphone and headphones.
She was walking down Sunnybrae Road on Sunday June 23, at noon, when she noticed a car pass her slowly in Campground Road and pull over.
“When she turned down into Sunnybrae Road, she was approached from behind by one of the male suspects. Two other suspects joined in and tried to spray her with pepper spray,” said Warrant Officer Sisam.
They snatched her phone and headphones before driving off in the car.
Officers had used licence-plate recognition cameras to trace the vehicle used in the mugging, said Warrant Officer Sisam.
“The vehicle was located, and four suspects were arrested aged between 16 and 19 years old.
“The other two suspects had been detained by Mitchell’s Plain police for hijacking an e-hailing driver in Mitchell’s Plain days after the Rondebosch case,” he said.
All six were charged with robbery and appeared in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on Monday July 8.
Warrant Officer Sisam said the six suspects had also been linked to a similar robbery in Fish Hoek where a victim was robbed in the same way on the same day on June 23.