Armed robbers raid Cape Town hotel

Gun-wielding criminals have robbed the Castle Hotel in the centre of Cape Town of an undisclosed amount of money.

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Cape Town - Gun-wielding criminals robbed the Castle Hotel in the centre of Cape Town of an undisclosed amount of money on Monday morning.

The owner, Dean Hubbard, said they had just opened when the robbery took place. “It was around 6.30am when the four men came in and pretended to be customers. Our coffee shop had just opened at the time.”

He said the men drew guns and went straight to the manager’s office. They seemed to know exactly where the office was without being told, said Hubbard. He added that he did not know how the gang obtained the information.

Police spokeswoman Constable Noloyiso Rwexana confirmed that a business robbery occurred on Monday morning at a hotel in Canterbury Street.

She said the manager and staff had reportedly been held up at gunpoint by four unidentified suspects and were robbed of an undisclosed amount of money and a cellphone.

The suspects fled the scene on foot and no injuries were reported.

“A case of business robbery is being investigated. No one has been arrested at this stage,” said Rwexana.

Hubbard said luckily there had been no customers in the hotel coffee shop at the time of the theft, just the manager and a staff member.

He said it was the first time the hotel had been robbed and added that the police had been helpful. “The police have been outstanding, from the time of response to the counselling they gave my staff, I couldn’t ask for better service.

“As an owner, I’m really concerned about the level of crime in Cape Town. The robbers might have shot someone.”

He said the two staff members who had been at the hotel at the time were too traumatised to speak to the Cape Argus.

kalipa.siyabonga@inl.co.za

Cape Argus