Story Details

On Friday, 2 January 2009, detectives attached to the SAPS Howick, acting on information, proceeded to the Sandton area in Gauteng where they arrested three persons responsible for the armed robbery at Freeland Farm, Dargle, in the Howick area. The men were arrested at a house and several stolen goods were recovered, including four firearms, of which one was a shotgun which had been taken from Freeland Farm during the robbery. During the afternoon of Wednesday, 10 Dec 2008, Mrs Linzi-Anne Smith (62) was at home on the farm when three men armed with handguns, entered the home through an unlocked door, and confronted her. Shortly thereafter, her husband, Robert Smith (65) and two friends entered the house. They were also confronted by the gunmen who searched them and ransacked the house.

The gunmen assaulted Linzi–Anne Smith with the firearm before tying up the victims’ hands and feet with cable ties. The suspects then fled with a vehicle belonging to one of the friends, a gold coloured Toyota Corolla. The vehicle was found abandoned the same afternoon in the Nottingham Roadarea. Jewellery, cellphones and an undisclosed amount of cash were also taken by the suspects.

The three accused appeared in the Howick Magistrates’ Court and have been remanded in custody for further investigation. Thus far investigations have established that the arrested men are part of a larger gang operating nationally, and the possibility of them wanted on other cases cannot be ruled out.