Tshwane ‘tunnel burglaries’ concerning and suggest a high degree of organisation

The Tshwane metro has been asked to secure its stormwater drainage infrastructure after three stores in the Pretoria CBD were robbed using underground tunnels this year.

The latest store to be robbed is the Metro Home Centre (MHC), which was burgled of an undisclosed amount of goods believed to be in the millions on September 18.

MHC sells designer apparel, perfumes, appliances, laptops, rugs, fabric and furniture.

Director of MHC Shahin Carrim called for intervention after the store reported the matter to the police on Sunday after it was left with a hole in their store.

Carrim also suspected syndicates to be operating in the Pretoria CBD using the same modus operandi to gain access to businesses through the use of underground tunnels.

“Three stores have been targeted thus far. One has since shut down after the robbery cleared them out in December, while one was robbed a month ago.”

He said his business was the latest to be targeted by criminals this way.

According to Carrim, criminals were now using the canal on Nelson Mandela Drive and stormwater drains to move underground into various targeted businesses.

“The criminals are breaking through stormwater drains and anybody has access to any part of the city as the plans of the stormwater infrastructure are available on the internet.

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“This has become a problem and could potentially be a big one for the whole of Pretoria.”

He called on the Tshwane metro to limit access to the stormwater infrastructure.

“Start gating tunnels as an option and fix the stormwater pipes damaged by the thieves before the rains come down,” Carrim said.

He added that the stormwater canal along Nelson Mandela Drive was a hideout for many criminal activities and had to be monitored and secured.

Acting chief of staff in the Tshwane mayor’s office Jordan Griffiths said criminals used explosives to blow a hole through the ground to access the stormwater pipes and canals.

“This is deeply alarming,” he said.

He said the metro’s dedicated inner-city teams were deployed on these occasions to assess the breaches as these crimes were concerning and “suggest a high degree of organisation”.

“In the most recent case, our teams were immediately deployed to ensure that this hole was sealed.”

Griffiths said the metro called on all residents and business owners to report any suspicious activity around the city’s stormwater canals and infrastructure.

Pretoria Central police spokesperson Captain Augustinah Selepe did not confirm whether syndicates were possibly running these burglaries.

Selepe, however, said police were investigating the robbery.

She said according to their investigations no explosives were used.

“The case was reported on September 19. No explosives were used as the suspects gained entry through storm pipes and dug until they gained entry to the store.”

She said at this stage, police could not confirm how many suspects were involved.

Investigations are still ongoing and there are no arrests.

Rekord has also reached out to businesses that have been hit, using the same modus operandi.

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