On Thursday, at approximately 11:21, a client from a supermarket in Effingham reported an armed robbery that had occurred only minutes earlier. According to the caller, three men entered the store in an unknown vehicle, held employees at gunpoint, and fled with an undisclosed amount of cash, airtime, and cigarettes.
Marshall Security Armed Response Officers and the Special Operations Team (SOT) arrived within minutes. CCTV footage confirmed that the suspects posed as customers, brandished firearms, and left in a silver Toyota Quest. No cellphones were taken. Staff requested trauma counselling, and the Independent Crisis Team responded while Greenwood Park SAPS secured the scene.
By early afternoon, Marshall Security SOT, Greenwood Park SAPS Trio Crimes, and Newlands SAPS Trio Crimes were analysing leads on the three suspects. Intelligence at 17:00 placed the Toyota Quest circulating in the Newlands area. Patrol teams soon located the vehicle parked roadside with one suspect inside. Officers intercepted the car, recovering a gas firearm, airtime vouchers, and a cash box stolen earlier. Both the suspect and the vehicle were transported to Greenwood Park SAPS.
Further intelligence pointed to a hideout in Riverdene, where officers apprehended a second suspect and seized cartons of stolen cigarettes and a SAPS jacket linked to the robbery. Follow-up operations continued into the night to locate the remaining suspect.
All recovered evidence and detained individuals have been handed over to Greenwood Park SAPS for processing and ongoing investigation.
Marshall Security extends sincere appreciation to Greenwood Park SAPS Trio Crimes, Newlands SAPS Trio Crimes, the Independent Crisis Team, and our own Special Operations Team for their swift, coordinated action—turning a daylight heist into back-to-back arrests and critical recoveries. United efforts like these keep our community safer and disrupt organised crime.
