A LITHOTENG police officer who attempted to rob a Pakistani businessman at an illegal roadblock in Mahlabatheng near St Michaels in Roma on Tuesday last week is expected to appear before the Maseru Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.
news
Feb. 1, 2021
NKOATE THAMAE
2 min read
Cop in failed St Michaels robbery in court
The police suspect in a red shirt on the back of a military van
The Police Constable who is charged along with another man was apprehended at the scene by a group of soldiers with the assistance of members of the public after the armed robbery failed.
The soldiers were driving past the scene when they saw an angry group of men manhandling the suspects.
According to police spokesperson Senior Superintendent Mpiti Mopeli, the suspects who were handed over to the Roma police after their arrest used a toy gun during the robbery.
The target he said was the Pakistani businessman who owns a supermarket in Ha Ntsi, Nazareth on the outskirts of Maseru.
He said prior to the foiled armed robbery, the suspects went to the supermarket and seized the fake firearm from the security officer who was on duty at the store.
“The police constable is also involved in a string of other criminal activities including the theft of a car engine that at the Lithoteng Police Station pound,” Mopeli further showed.
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He said the victim was driving from Ha Ntsi to Maseru when the suspects pounced on him.
After stopping him at the roadblock, he said the two men robbed the businessman a bag full of an undisclosed sum of cash.
But the Pakistani managed to fight off his attackers and recovered his money before fleeing to a nearby field where people were working.
Video clips of the arrest later went viral, showing the two suspects being assaulted by both the soldiers and an angry mob of civilians before they were bundled onto the back of a military van.
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