Chrissiesmeer – The long arm of the law has caught up with a suspected burglar eight years after the housebreaking incident in which a handgun was stolen from a safe was reported.
The breakthrough came after police divers recovered a gun and bullets from the bottom of a reservoir in Chrissiesmeer, near Ermelo.
The pistol was reported stolen during a burglary at a Chrissiesmeer house in September 2015.
Mpumalanga police spokesperson Colonel Donald Mdhluli said the stolen gun was recovered last week.
“The [burglary] incident occurred more than eight years ago, remarkably enough police managed to arrest the suspect, Bheki Joseph Bhembe,” said Colonel Mdhluli.
This week, on Tuesday, the arrested 36-year-old suspect appeared in the Ermelo Magistrate’s Court in Mpumalanga, where he was remanded in custody.
The case was adjourned to 2 April 2024 – meaning Bhembe will spend the Easter Holidays behind bars.
