Louwrens du Plessis of the Guardian Group and his team has managed to bring remote control thefts and incidents of card cloning, to an all time low at Ultra City.

The Middelburg Observer was the first newspaper in South Africa, to report on remote control thefts. The first reports were published as far back as 2010, when two local businessmen demonstrated how a common remote, used to open motorised gates or garage doors, could be used to jam your car’s remote and thus preventing it from locking.

Most of the earlier instances happened at Ultra City on the N4, suspectedly targeted because of the high volume of people, usually in a hurry and often with valuable items in their vehicles.

As an added bonus, charges laid by tourists are difficult to prosecute, because they return overseas and are usually difficult to track down, leaving the case without a complainant. That however did not stop thieves from trying the remote control trick on Middelburg residents. The Middelburg CBD and shopping centre parking lots, have been identified as hot spots.

Since management at Ultra City employed the Guardian Group, these criminal activities have dropped significantly. They have also identified, tracked down and assisted in arresting several suspects.

A signal-jammer that sounds an alarm in the parking lot, when thieves attempt to block car remotes has been installed. The wailing siren worked wonders to let people know, that remote thieves were in the area.

The system has seen remote-control thefts diminish to almost nothing.

Mr Du Plessis says that they will now focus on doing the same with card cloning incidents. Innovative ways to spot suspects, and warn possible victims, will be implemented in the near future. State of the art cameras, with powerful zoom and moving capabilities, will help in the fight against crime.

• Mr Du Plessis and his son Gerdus were recently involved in the apprehending of two suspects linked with card cloning activities. David Khoza and Poncho Thibele were arrested in a parking lot next to Samora Machel Street hours after they allegedly stole goods belonging to Jackie Mellot at Ultra City. Khoza remains in custody, whilst Thibele was released on bail. Their court case is on-going.