Police arrested a 27-year-old man after stumbling onto an armed robbery at the Tearoom Shop, in Swartkops on Monday night.
According to police, the robbery happened at about 8:30pm.
Police spokesman Constable Mncedi Mbombo said that three men entered the shop and held the owner and his business partner at gun point.
“One suspect took an undisclosed amount of cash from the till machine while the other two suspects were busy taking cigarettes and airtime. They then ran out of the shop.
The complainant and his partner chased them and screamed for help,” he said.
“Fortunately, a Swartkops police van was patrolling the area at the time and responded to the cries for help.
“The officials managed to catch and arrest one of the suspects while the other two managed to flee in a maroon Toyota Tazz.” Mbombo said.
Mbombo said the suspect is believed to be from the Motherwell area.
The man will appear in the Motherwell Magistrate’s court on Wednesday.