A case of robbery was opened in 2019 after items worth a staggering R300 million were stolen in a facility in Rivonia, north of Johannesburg. The property is responsible for the global distribution of luxury Richemont jewellery. Guards were overpowered, staff were tied up and security doors were completely destroyed in the robbery. It was also reported that the CCTV on the premises was apparently “not working at the time of the incident”.

In a statement, the Hawks said they followed up on information which led them to Soweto, where they tracked and arrested 39-year-old Mduduzi Nxumalo on Monday. He appeared in the Randburg magistrate’s court on Tuesday on charges of business robbery, for his alleged role in the crime at Johann Rupert’s warehouse. He returns to the dock on 1 August 2022. “It is alleged that on the night of August 9 2019, a vehicle with armed men entered the business premises on Ballyclare Drive in Sandton, where they tied the security guards with cables and broke into a jewellery warehouse.”