Thieves who tried to capitalise on the back-to-school rush by robbing a Johannesburg store selling uniforms - and its customers - have been arrested.

While their initial plan to rob the store on Tuesday succeeded, greed got the better of them.

Wanting to make extra cash off the illegal deed, one of the gang phoned the husband of a woman whose purse they had stolen, asking for "a token of appreciation" for "finding" it.

The savvy man promptly alerted police, who set up a showdown.

Capt Xoli Mbele explained how it went down: "It is alleged that five males robbed a shop selling school uniforms on the corner of Troy and President streets on January 8 at 5pm. The suspects entered the shop pretending to be customers."

One of them stood at the entrance while his accomplices threatened the cashier and demanded money. They took an undisclosed amount and also robbed customers of their cash and cellphones.

One of the suspects subsequently phoned the husband of a female victim whose purse he had stolen. Her husband's contact details were inside the purse.

"He told the husband to come with some cash as a token of appreciation. They made an appointment to meet at a restaurant in the Johannesburg CBD on Wednesday January 9 and police were alerted," said Mbele.

"He came with the wallet of a victim and was apprehended inside the restaurant."

The suspect then took the police to his accomplice. The female victim identified the second suspect as the one who pointed a firearm at her inside the shop, said Mbele.

The two arrested suspects, aged 33 and 34, will stand trial for business robbery. 

Three other suspects are still at large. The investigation continues. 

Source: TMG Digital