Rietgat police have reported that business burglaries and thefts near Mabopane train station have been rife since the beginning of the year. Police spokesperson Warrant officer Lolo Mangena said there have been numerous reports of thefts, robberies, shopliftings and business burglaries in their five clusters.
He said in the first week of the year business burglary has increased. “We are currently investigating about six cases of business burglary and a couple of thefts from motor vehicles. This is a huge concern because it is now clear that thugs target businesses for thefts in the first week of the new year. We would like to urge business owners to be vigilant and always contact the police whenever they see anything suspicious,” he said.
The 18-year-old Edi Murphy Mashava from Block GG in Soshanguve was one of the victims of business robberies this week. Mashava lost R35 600, cigarettes and biscuits at his shop on Tuesday morning. According to police the victim was asleep in his shop when he was allegedly awaken by a man attempting to open the door.
Mangena said the shop owner was alone and could see how the man was forcing open the shop’s doors. “The incident happened at around 01:30 on Tuesday morning. The victim then attempted to cut off the hand of the suspect with a panga before he heard a suspect saying “shoot him”. He said two African males come into the shop and robbed him.”
Police are investigating a case of theft and robbery and the suspects are still at large.
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