JMPD arrests a man filmed stealing a phone in Brooklyn and three others accused of flushing stolen devices. Picture: Supplied. The Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) Tactical Response Unit (TRU) tracked down and arrested the Zimbabwean suspect captured on video.
The footage shows him grabbing a cellphone from a woman and fleeing in a getaway vehicle. A video has gone viral of the incident that allegedly happened outside Kream Restaurant in Brooklyn. The footage shows a man walking behind a woman as she climbs a staircase.
He suddenly snatches the phone from her hands. The man then runs, and you can hear a vehicle speeding away in the video. ♦️BREAKING NEWS♦️The notorious criminal captured on a viral video smash-and-grabbing a cellphone has been tracked down and arrested by the TRU in Hillbrow.
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Swift, decisive action has been taken. Lawlessness will not be tolerated.#BuyaMthethoManjeNamhlanje#FestiveTshelaThupapic.twitter.com/WHrMZKqMLv These posts appeared to have been made after the incident, along with past photos linked to thefts, including a 2023 incident in Hatfield. The JMPD TRU tracked the 26-year-old suspect to a flat in Hillbrow on Tuesday and arrested him.
Police arrested the suspect along with three others linked to a suspected stolen property syndicate. The JMPD said officers found the suspect in possession of a cellphone that he could not account for. “Following a preliminary investigation, the suspect has been positively linked to numerous phone snatching cases across the province, the March 2025 hijacking of an off-duty JMPD member as per the Diepsloot SAPS case, and the use of a Toyota Corolla with cloned registration plates during the commission of these crimes,” JMPD spokesperson Xolani Fihla said on Tuesday.
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