UMBILO SAPS urges residents to be aware of 'vicious criminals' armed with a hammer who have been spotted in the area.
According to Sgt Beverly Manqele, four men armed with a hammer have been seen at a shopping centre. Police received a complaint that the men had chased a car guard away, threatening to hit him with the hammer, so they could steal a car.
“They managed to break into one of the vehicles, stealing the sound system. This group operates in the early hours of the morning, along James Henderson Road in Glenwood,” she said.
She said the incident was currently under investigation and police expected to make an arrest soon.
Umbilo SAPS had also received numerous complaints where women were offered lifts by two men in a white VW Polo. On separate incidents the victims were robbed of their phones by the men.
“This is a new modus operandi and the public, especially women, need to be more vigilant of these kinds of crimes, as one should never accept a lift from any stranger. This can lead to a life-threatening situation,” said Manqele.
Another case which Manqele said needed to be brought to the attention of residents was the use of the Money Market system.
“We have received numerous complaints and have opened cases of theft. People deposit money for another person, whereby the other person requires a pin code to be able to withdraw that money. This pin code is given to the depositor who in turn has to give it to the person receiving the money. However, somewhere along the line these pin codes are given to strangers or someone they trust, and the money is withdrawn – stolen – and when the receiver goes to withdraw the money, it is no longer available as it has already been withdrawn by someone else,” she said.
She urged the public to be vigilant and not to give these pin codes out to anyone, including he staff at the Money Markets.
Manqele said the community also needed to be aware of criminals posing as flat or home owners, while advertising them to rent.
“We are investigating such cases whereby victims fall prey to these criminals who steal their money by asking for large sums of money as deposits for these flats or homes. As soon as they receive the deposits they disappear and the 'tenant' who paid for the flat or home never receives the key and doesn’t get a place to live,” she said.
She urged residents to be more vigilant and not to fall victim to this scam.
