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Suspect’s profile pic leads to his arrest

In perhaps one of the stranger incidents that police have had to deal with in Gqeberha recently, they were able to make an arrest when they recognised a suspect from his profile picture. The suspect had left his phone behind in his abandoned getaway car, and this ultimately ensured that he was arrested when he tried to report his vehicle and phone as stolen.

Bernadette Nel-Naude, Gqeberha Branch Manager for Fidelity ADT, explained that this all started with an alleged robbery at a filling station on Cape Road.

“One of our armed response officers responded to a panic alarm on Saturday night (13 July 2024). He saw the alleged suspects trying to speed away in their getaway car and gave chase while calling for backup.”

SAPS and other armed response companies were alerted to the chase through the Cotswolds and into a nearby quarry. The vehicle was later located in the Malabar area, where it had overturned. The alleged suspects were nowhere to be seen.

“However, they forgot one of their cell phones inside the abandoned vehicle. Officers were able to retrieve a profile picture from the phone. A short while later, the alleged suspects arrived at the local police station to report the car and the phone as stolen. Officials became suspicious by the suspects’ nervous demeanour and quickly recognised the suspect whose profile image they had recovered. The suspects were promptly taken into custody,” says Nel-Naude.

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