THE LITHOTENG police constable who was arrested during a failed armed robbery in which he allegedly used a toy gun to rob a foreign businessman was on Tuesday denied bail by the Maseru Magistrate’s Court.

The court refused to release both PC Mpatlise Sello and his co-accused Lekanyane Lefu who is a civilian on bail, citing reasons of lack of jurisdiction to grant bail to armed robbery suspects.

The two accused were last week Tuesday arrested by a group of soldiers with the assistance of members of the public, after they tried to rob the Pakistani shopkeeper a bag full of cash.

It is alleged that earlier that day, the accused mounted an illegal roadblock in Mahlabatheng near St Michaels, Roma.

Their target it is further alleged was the Pakistani businessman who owns a supermarket in Ha Ntsi, Nazareth on the outskirts of Maseru.

The victim was driving from Ha Ntsi to Maseru when the accused pounced on him.

After stopping him at the roadblock, the two men used their fake gun to rob the businessman of cash to the tune of M9 300.

But the Pakistani managed to fight off his attackers and recovered his money before fleeing to a nearby field where he sought refuge from people who were working there.

The soldiers were driving past the field when they saw an angry group of men manhandling the two men.

Upon their arrest, the toy gun was confiscated from the two men and it later emerged that prior to the failed armed robbery, they had gone to the supermarket in Ha Ntsi and seized the fake firearm from a security guard who was on duty at the store.

After their subsequent public apprehension, the accused were cuffed together and bundled onto the back of a military van before they were driven to Roma where they were handed over to the police.

Video clips of the arrest later went viral, showing the two men being assaulted by both the soldiers and an angry mob of civilians before they were bundled onto the back of the army vehicle.