Police officer among five suspected robbers

Staff Reporter

A WINDHOEK-BASED police officer is among five arrested robbery suspects accused of stealing N$12,000 from a resident in Keetmanshoop.

According to the police, the suspects approached their victim, pretending to be business people selling stones. They visited the victim at his residence, offering him stones, and he agreed to buy them. The victim then went to withdraw money at the bank accompanied by the stone sellers. It was at the bank where a “police officer,” who was, in reality, a member of the same gang, intervened, supposedly to prevent illegal activities.

The suspects took the money and the stones and left the scene in two getaway vehicles: a navy-blue Polo and a silver Passat. The unidentified victim alerted the police, and a manhunt was launched, leading to the arrest of five suspects in Mariental while they were on their way to Windhoek. The suspects’ ages range from 34 to 45.

One of the suspects, a police officer based in the Khomas Region, was found in possession of a service pistol, police uniform, and a bulletproof vest. The police recovered an amount of N$6,000 believed to be part of the N$12,000 stolen from a resident of Keetmanshoop.