Fourth arrest in journo robbery

Fourth arrest in journo robbery
2010-06-10 18:21
Johannesburg - Police have arrested a fourth suspect for robbing three European journalists in Magaliesburg, north-west of Johannesburg, police chief General Bheki Cele's office said on Thursday.
"We have arrested four suspects. We are confident that we have the right people," Cele's spokesperson Nonkululeko Mbatha told Sapa
"We have recovered most of the stolen items. We are still questioning them, so there is the chance that we can still recover more."
Cele earlier on Thursday apologised for the robbery at gunpoint of one Spanish and two Portuguese journalists at the Nutbush Boma lodge in Magaliesburg on Wednesday morning.
"It is unfortunate that our visitors had to endure such an experience and I hope that the swift reaction of the police will give them the confidence to enjoy the rest of their trip, this wonderful country and the beautiful game," he said in a statement.
"The local police, detectives and intelligence joined forces and followed up several leads, resulting in three men being taken into custody during the night of 9-10 June 2010."
Police said the suspects were set to appear in court within 48 hours.
Cele said he wanted to assure foreign media that "the police of this country are determined to create a safe environment for the 2010 FIFA World Cup".
The Times newspaper identified the three journalists as Antonio Simoes, Rui Gustavo and Miquel Cerano.
Magaliesburg mayor Koketso Seerane on Thursday condemned the robbery of the journalists.
"The people of Mogale City strongly condemn this barbaric act and will work closely with the police in ensuring that perpetrators are brought to book and dealt with," he said in a statement.
SA journo arrested
Seerane said his municipality was committed to ensuring the safety of all their visitors.
"We express our sympathy and support to the victims of this robbery."
The police detained a South African journalist from The Times newspaper, Charl du Plessis, at the scene on Wednesday, claiming that he did not follow the correct police procedures.
The newspaper said Du Plessis got in trouble for writing down the names of two policemen.
He was released after his editor and national and provincial police officers intervened.
Meanwhile, Beeld newspaper reported that three Chinese journalists were robbed of a camera while a Korean broadcasting official was robbed of his passport and R12 000 cash.
The three Chinese journalists, Di Wanyong, Pan Yan and Wu Fang, were robbed about four kilometres from Soccer City in Soweto, when the window of their car was smashed and a camera was stolen on Tuesday.
Mall
The head contractor of a Korean broadcasting company was reportedly attacked in the men's room at Carlton Centre, Johannesburg.
According to Beeld, quoting the Dong-A Ilbo newspaper's website, the 38-year-old man was overpowered and throttled.
When he came to, he discovered that his passport and cash were missing.
Cele's office could not confirm the reports.
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Colin Michael Ball5:57 pm
A group of footballers from the Greek national team have had money stolen from their hotel rooms in Umhlanga, north of Durban.Around R20 000 was taken from the players rooms at the Beverly Hills Hotel on Tuesday night.The police’s Vishnu Naidoo said despite the Greek football players not wanting to open a case, police are looking into the incident.“We have now delegated high level detectives to interview the players so that we can bring about a criminal case and have it investigated,” he said.The robbery came within hours of another incident in which three journalists from Portugal and Spain were robbed in Magaliesburg.While two reporters slept through the intrusion on Tuesday morning, one woke up and was held at gunpoint while his equipment and cash was stolen.Four suspects have since been arrested and some of the stolen goods have been recovered.