Escalating housebreakings due to negligence – police

Benoni police spokesperson Lieunitant Nomsa Sekele said criminals are targeting houses where valuables are noticeable through open curtains, late at night, Benoni City Times reported.

Sekele said: “In some cases that were reported the same method was used by suspects, for example, breaking the window and grabbing small, valuable items that are easily accessible, such as iPads, laptops, cameras, phones and external hard drives”.

“As the Benoni police station, we appeal to the community to be alert and work with us in order avoids these crimes from happening,” she added.

The area had been hit by a spate of housebreaking recently, including the case involving the arrests of two men following a house robbery in Edenvale Avenues in Ekurhuleni last week.

Police said four men gained access to a property in the Avenues and held two women hostage.

The four men fled the premises after taking R700, a cellular phone and some jewellery, said police.

In September, two alleged robbers were arrested for housebreakingand theft in Kagiso, near Roodepoort, after being assaulted by residents.

In August, police were investigating cases of housebreaking and the theft of a motor vehicle after robbers invaded a Midrand home while homeowners were asleep.

Three of the alleged robbers are seen in video footage forcing open the property’s gate and driving off with the vehicle.

– Caxton News Service