SABIE – GDH Harvesting, a small timber contractor, has been robbed of 17 chainsaws in three separate incidents in the past two weeks. Since the business started in 2005, over 500 chainsaws have been stolen in total, according to the director, Mr Harry Robinson. No suspects have ever been apprehended.
On Friday, July 3 a GDH vehicle arrived at the workshop at about 17:45. The workers were robbed of seven chainsaws at gunpoint. Less than a week after that, on July 7, in the early hours of the morning the company was collecting workers in Sabie when they were again robbed of four chainsaws at gunpoint.
Two days after that, on July 9 at about 16:50, a vehicle returning from the plantation was held up at gunpoint in a plantation and the robbers got away with six chainsaws. “This was loss of about
R120 000 which the business cannot sustain,” says Robinson. “The same modus operandi was used in all these cases and I believe that the same gang is involved. There is always one suspect with a gun and the others carry the stolen goods,” he says. He adds that the police never prioritise these cases as no one gets hurt.
Financially it is hurting a small business like GDH, but it’s not only us that gets hammered,” he adds. “Due to the nature of our business, we move around a lot thus we are exposed and as soon we improve our security, suspects change their tactics.”
“The thieves move around and as soon as they see that the contractors might have let their guard down, they strike again.” We’ve been fighting a losing battle for many years now. We believe that the suspects cross the border and sell the chainsaws there. We also believe that it might be an inside job. Almost every time, they know exactly where the equipment is being kept,” Robinson concluded.
Lt Col HW Lesele denied allegations that Sabie SAPS did not prioritise these crimes and said that a task team had been deployed on provincial level to address the situation.
Read about a previous incident at GDH
