Durban – KwaZulu-Natal jewellery stores and shopping malls are beefing up security in the wake of a string of robberies in and around Durban in recent weeks.
Osiniq Jewels at the Hilton Hotel, Cajee at Gateway in uMhlanga, and two Natal Wholesale Jewellers (NWJ) stores – one in Sanlam Centre, in Empangeni, and one in Musgrave Centre, in Durban – all recently fell victim to gangs of armed men storming the stores, smashing windows and display counters with hammers and making off with jewellery and / or watches.
NWJ, in a press statement on Tuesday, confirmed robberies at three of its stores.
The company declined to reveal the location of the third store, saying: “We do not, based on international best practice, publicly disclose details of the incidents or of our counter measure, nor of the number of incidents that may have occurred in any period.”
It did, however, say none of its staff or customers was hurt.
“Protecting our staff and providing a safe environment for our customers is a priority and we constantly upgrade our security measures based on industry feedback and best practice internationally,” it said.
The company said it was working closely with SAPS, security services and mall management to assist in bringing the perpetrators to book and ensuring the safety of its employees and customers.
The store manager at Beverley Jewellers at The Pavilion, Marvin Appanna, on Tuesday told The Mercury they, too, had recently increased security.
The store was held up in June.
“After that, we – for the first time in 23 years of being here -introduced a closed door policy,” he said.
Speaking broadly, Appanna said shopping malls needed a proactive approach to security and that, ideally, criminals needed to be stopped before they got into malls.
He said the perpetrators were well-trained and professional.
Appanna said jewellery was a popular item to steal because it was portable with a high return value.
Asked how criminals resold stolen jewellery, Appanna said they either took it to unscrupulous second-hand dealers or out of the country.
“Or, when it comes to gold, they can steal it in the morning and smelt it down by the afternoon.”
Gateway Theatre of Shopping centre management said in a statement that it was working closely with the relevant authorities, intelligence bureaus and other malls to combat the increase in shopping centre- related incidents which the industry was currently experiencing.
Senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies, Johan Burger, on Tuesday told The Mercury the heists could signal the establishment of a new syndicate. “But they could also be the work of an older group which has just changed its modus operandi,” he said.
Burger explained that police had increased their presence as part of their festive seasons operations and that these had proved quite successful.
“An older group might have simply been ‘displaced’ and moved to a new area,” he said.
Time of heists
* December 2: Jewellery store on Matthews Meyiwa (Stamford Hill) Road; 10 trays of rings and earrings stolen.
* December 9: Jewellery store at La Lucia Mall; more than 50 Tag Heuer watches stolen.
* January 8: Osiniq Jewels at the Hilton Hotel; more than R2 million worth of jewellery stolen.
* January 9: Cajee Gateway; watches stolen.
* January 13: NWJ, Sanlam Centre, Empangeni; undisclosed amount of jewellery stolen.
* January 15: NWJ, Musgrave Centre; undisclosed amount of jewellery stolen.