'Remote control' thieves robbing cars

Cape Town. Seapoint. 120105. Enzo Raffa is convinced his cars remote was somehow controlled by a person standing close to him while Enzo was trying to engage the lock on his remote. This incident took place in Seapoint. Enzo then later took pictures of the man. Reporter Natasha Prins. Picture Courtney Africa

Cape Town. Seapoint. 120105. Enzo Raffa is convinced his cars remote was somehow controlled by a person standing close to him while Enzo was trying to engage the lock on his remote. This incident took place in Seapoint. Enzo then later took pictures of the man. Reporter Natasha Prins. Picture Courtney Africa

Published Jan 9, 2012

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The AA has warned that drivers should be vigilant about “remote blocking” - thieves electronically jamming cars’ alarm systems to prevent them from locking.

Although reported cases in South Africa are rare, they are happening.

Last week a Cape Town man raised the alarm and alerted police after catching a suspected “vehicle remote blocker” in the act.

Enzo Raffa said his car was broken into in front of Checkers in main Road, Sea Point on December 19. The robbers stole a laptop with more than 10 years of data on it, his ID book, wallet, diary and other items.

He explained that he had pressed the remote to lock the car. Returning minutes later he did not notice anything untoward and drove home. But on opening the boot he was dismayed to discover the theft.

“I usually always check that the remote light flashes, but with all the traffic chaos at that time of day, I didn’t check,” he said of his remote control.

He raced back to the area, but nobody had seen anything, so he reported the robbery at the Sea Point police station.

On Tuesday Raffa and his wife had parked in Main Road. He pressed the remote, but the car would not lock.

“I immediately realised that somebody was blocking my signal,” he said. He noticed a man standing behind him with a phone to his ear and what looked like a bunch of keys with a remote in his right hand.

“He stared at me and started walking away towards the Spar but stopped about 10 metres away and turned around and looked at me with the phone to his ear,” he said.

Raffa used his cellphone to take pictures of the man. He followed him into the Spar and alerted the police.

“The Sea Point police were there in five minutes, in force. They spread out in the Spar while I waited at the door.”

But it seemed the man had slipped out through a fire escape exit.

Police have confirmed that they are investigating Raffa’s case.

The AA said “remote blocking” was not common in Cape Town, but there had been cases in Johannesburg and Durban.

Gary Ronald of the AA said these cases were “not widespread, but it certainly is happening”.

He said criminals were using multi-purpose remote-control devices to jam car immobilisers, preventing motorists from locking their vehicles.

Meanwhile, in Durban last week, four men were arrested for allegedly using remote control devices to jam car alarm systems and electronic gates to break into cars and homes in Berea.

Durban's central Cluster Team made the arrest and recovered jewellery, cellphones and 50 bank cards. - Cape Argus

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