Men selling compost and posing as gardeners around Centurion have many frightened, as reports of their aggressive sales tactics have come in.
Residents have complained about suspicious gardeners approaching homeowners and trying to convince them to buy horse manure. One of the residents in Wierda Park said that the men used horse manure that was full of sawdust and tried hard to force homeowners to buy from them.
Ward 66 councillor, Ina Strijdom, confirmed that she received complaints from residents in Valhalla about the issue. “The complaint was that these people were very arrogant in the way they approached the residents. They insisted on being allowed access to properties. Once they gained access, they proceeded to lay the manure over the grass without the permission of the resident. Afterwards, they insisted on payment and became aggressive when residents refused to pay. In once such an incident, I had to intervene with the assistance of the Community Policing Forum and the police,” said Strijdom.
Ben Naicker from Valhalla told Rekord that he was recently approached by the same kind of people who looked suspicious and drugged-up, and he said they smelled of alcohol as well. About five men entered his yard and tried to sell horse manure to him. “When I asked them for a sample, they offloaded almost 100 bags of compost and started pouring it all over my lawn. I tried to stop them, but then they became arrogant and aggressive, and continued to harass me for payment. They then started swearing at me and when I demanded to speak to their boss, he was also arrogant to me. While I was trying to get them out of my yard, my wife tried to call the police but they never arrived. I contacted my brother-in-law and the neighbours also came out, as they could see that I was faced a tough situation,” elaborated Naicker.
He pressed the panic button, activating the alarm, and when the security company arrived they jumped into a white Suzuki bakkie and left. “They left with my R1 000, even though they demanded R2 000 from me.” One resident in Rooihuiskraal who asked to remain anonymous said she was approached by suspicious men and despite telling them that she was not interested in their product, the men kept checking around her yard. “My home was broken into and I suspect it might have been those ‘gardeners’. I just want to warn other people not to open for strangers, as we have no idea who the criminals are.” Police spokesperson, Captain Agnes Huma, said residents should be careful about people pretending to be selling any kinds of products to them.
