South African police on the trail of 12 more Namibians

SOUTH African police say they are still searching for 12 suspects in a housebreaking and robbery syndicate whose members are believed to all be Namibian citizens.

Police in the Western Cape have arrested 14 Namibian men since Tuesday last week in connection with a series of robberies that recently took place in affluent areas of Cape Town such as Bishops Court and Camps Bay, as well as in Claremont, Diep Rivier, Wynberg. The first breakthrough in the investigation came last Tuesday morning, after the Kirstenhof police and members of the Western Cape’s Serious and Violent Crime Unit ambushed the first five of the suspects in the mountains above Hout Bay.Police were led to the scene by members of the private security company Mountain Men, media reports indicated over the weekend.They apparently followed the tracks of three of the suspects, who had been investigated for their alleged parts in a robbery that happened in Lakeside early last week.The nine other suspects were arrested early on Friday morning in Milnerton. A spokesperson for the police in the Western Cape, Captain Frederick Van Wyk, confirmed that all 14 suspects made their first court appearances in the Wynberg magistrate’s court yesterday morning.They were all denied bail, and will return to court on May 19.The men were allegedly found in possession of more than N$2 million worth of stolen goods, which were hidden in a shack in Milnerton’s Imizano Yethu area.The stolen goods included plasma television sets, laptop computers, power tools, jewellery, identity documents, rifles, cameras, and even oriental-style swords.The suspects were identified as Johannes Ndapuka (aka Johnny) (20), Boheita Shatepampa (29), Joseph Shakolgo (28), Gedison Jonas (20), Johannes Lukas, Emanuel Katombela, Gideon Shaningwa, Martin Enumba, Ntombizanele Liqongo (29), Mateus Ignatius Taapopi (29), Johannes Mumbala (30), Kristof Shaningwa, Ruben Mweshikolela Kamule (28), and Benyamen Eposhe (28). Some of the men were said to have military backgrounds, and some were said to have worked on fishing trawlers operating from Hout Bay.The original five suspects were reportedly arrested after a scuffle with police.The men, according to the police, were without vehicles or firearms.