Erasmia residents are concerned about the increase in robberies more so armed robberies in the farming areas, as more and more squatters are erecting illegal shacks in the area.

Recently the area south of Erasmia’s main residential area has seen an upsurge in illegal settlements being put up in the vastly vacant and open areas of Erasmia. This follows three suspects being arrested by Erasmia police after they robbed 45-year-old Balwin Baloyi and his friend at Schurveberg Road, Vlakplaas, near the Hennops River on Thursday afternoon (Sept 5) at around 12h30. Balwin told the Laudium Sun that he went to the plot on Schurveberg Road to perform some rituals with his friend because as a black person he was required to perform the rituals
at the area, adding “While we were performing the ritual, three black guys approached us at the place where we were performing the ritual. The three guys were armed with firearms and they started attacking us and searching us. They stole about R500 cash we had between us and our cellphones, a Samsung and a Huawei cellphone. During the robbery my friend was beaten up because the thugs were forcing him to open his banking app to transfer money to them and he was resisting. I was fortunate that when they opened my phone they saw that I didn’t have
any banking apps so they left me. While they were looking at my friend’s phone to transfer money from his app, both of us managed to escape and we ran towards the river. When we saw the thugs running after us, we were scared and both of us then ran into the river although we could not swim, but with God’s grace we survived and managed to get to the other side of the river and escaped from the thugs. It looks like before the three thugs robbed us, they robbed a group of church members who were also doing a ritual at Hennops. The church members called the police and the police called a police helicopter to look for the thugs. The helicopter and the police found the thugs and arrested two of them as the third suspect managed to run away. He was however arrested later. We are calling on the police to make sure that these guys who have been robbing us do not receive bail. They have robbed many people doing rituals, especially church members and if we knew these guys were targeting people at the river we would not have gone there. The police found firearms and a whole lot of cellphones in their
possession,” Balwin concluded.

Tshwane Police Communication Co-ordinator Johan Van Dyk said,”at approximately 13:00, police officers from Erasmia were conducting patrols in the area when they received a report of an armed robbery in progress on Schurveberg Road, Vlakplaas, Lillian. The officers immediately responded to the scene. Members from Atteridgeville SAPS and the South African Police Service Airwing provided air support during the operation. Upon arrival, the Airwing unit apprehended two suspects, who were then handed over to the Erasmia officers. The members were informed of a third suspect who managed to evade arrest. A tactical search of the area was conducted, leading to the discovery and arrest of the third suspect. Two firearms were recovered at the scene, one of which was a replica. The firearm will be sent for ballistic tests to determine whether the weapon has been used in other crimes. The suspects are facing charges of armed robbery, possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition, as well as possession of suspected stolen property.”

Area Commissioner, Major-General Samuel Thine commended the members involved for their swift and effective response.