Cape Town - This is the moment a sticky-fingered grandmother made her getaway after pickpocketing an innocent victim in a popular Cape store.
Cops say they are looking for the as-yet unidentified thief.
This image was captured by the shop’s security cameras after she allegedly stole R2 800 from an unsuspecting woman.
Shaheeda Jacobs, 42, said she didn’t feel a thing when the woman brushed past her while shopping in Mitchell’s Plain Town Centre.
She said her little sling bag was filled with her only income – her tenants’ rent money.
“I went to Hyper Land in the plaza to buy a few groceries for my house but when I finished my shopping and wanted to go pay for it, I saw the money was gone,” said the shocked woman.
“I was deeply confused and shocked because I just had the money a few minutes before that,” she said.
Shaheeda approached the shop owner and she viewed the footage.
“[On the video] we clearly saw this elderly woman open my bag as I reached for teabags [on a shelf],” said Shaheeda.
“The footage shows her bending down next to me and open the zip of my bag. I never felt anything, that’s how skilled she is.”
Shaheeda added that she had a separate R800 in her bag and suspects the old lady followed her to steal it as well.
“The footage shows her coming back to me and touching my bag, but because I moved away, she was unable to get the other money.”
Hyper Land store owner Mohammed Moolla said his video footage captured the crime.
“I can see that the old lady was opening Shaheeda’s bag and taking something out, it’s not clear as to if it was money that she took out, but it shows the old lady take it,” he said.
Police spokesman Captain FC van Wyk says cops are investigating the matter and no arrests have been made.
Daily Voice