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Armed robbers hit Newlands in Easter weekend raid

Cape Town - Gun-wielding robbers raided Newlands Cricket Stadium in the early hours of Saturday morning, the Western Province Cricket Association (WPCA) has confirmed.

It is the third time since 2015 that the ground has been hit by robbers, but this time the men and a woman were armed, said a senior WPCA official.

Via a press statement released on Wednesday, the WPCA said the glass doors of about 25 suites were smashed.

The robbers targeted television sets, while also taking some liquor and other items, as well as vandalising some of the suites.

The WPCA said the incident started just after midnight when a woman approached security officials at Gate A and asked for directions to a church in the area.

When she returned five minutes later to ask a similar question, three men jumped the security fences and were soon joined by more than 15 other men. Some of them had guns and forced the security officials to provide them with the keys to the iconic President’s Suite.

Their raid took less than an hour and they packed the goods onto three vehicles and then left the scene.

“The South African Police Services are busy with an extensive investigation into the event and we will also reassess our security measures, including the possibility of having more cameras installed,” said a senior official of WPCA.

“As an association we are disturbed by the robbery and will do our utmost with the help of the South African Police Services to get to the bottom of this and try and prevent a re-occurrence of this type of incident. We will seriously look within our budgetary constraints to improve our security situation at the stadium.

“Whilst it is truly appalling for this type of robbery to take place at our iconic cricket stadium where we have enjoyed some wonderful memories this past season, we are thankful that the security guard caught up in this crime was unharmed. He has been offered the necessary counselling in order to help him recover from this ordeal,” the official concluded.

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