Johannesburg - They’re armed, they’ve got inside information and know exactly what they want when they target Gauteng malls.
This was Tuesday’s message from Gauteng police commissioner Lieutenant-General Lesetja Mothiba, who gave a media briefing in Parktown on the recent spate of shopping mall robberies in the province.
“It has become a serious cause for concern,” Mothiba said, listing 11 malls that had been hit in the past four weeks, and the five arrests police made in connection with the robberies.
He said it was too early to determine whether these robbers, who acted in groups of between two and five men - were part of a bigger syndicate.
Police have now offered a reward of up to R200 000 for information leading to the arrest and successful prosecution of any of the robbers.
Mothiba said they suspected that in nearly all the mall robberies, the gang or gangs were getting inside information and knew when deliveries were being made.
“We request employers to be aware, look at the integrity of their personnel,” Mothiba said.
“We are worried that in nearly 95 percent of the cases, cellphones were the target, and cash is minimal,” said Mothiba, “The question is, where are these cellphones going?”
He said police also needed to uncover how these phones could still be used after they had been blacklisted.
Dr Jackie de Wet, a lecturer at the criminology and forensic studies department at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, said while mall robberies were a difficult crime to investigate, the gangs slipped up eventually.
“They might start living lavishly, and police have informants everywhere,” De Wet said.
At the media briefing on Tuesday, deputy Gauteng commissioner Major-General Tebello Mosikili said they spend on average between R1 million and R1.5m on informants and rewards annually.
Mothiba said he was disappointed that some of their investigations had been hampered because some footage from CCTV cameras they obtained was of a poor quality and even unusable.
“Some of the CCTV cameras are not even working.”
He said they had discussed the issue of mall robberies with the national police office.
“Yes, there are isolated incidents in other provinces, but Gauteng is the worst affected province,” Mothiba admitted.
In the early hours of Monday, police arrested five men and recovered a 9mm pistol, three R5 rifles and 97 rounds of ammunition.
Mothiba said although the investigation was “very fresh”, they believed these men were linked to a robbery at the Black Chain Mall in Diepkloof on Saturday in which a security guard was shot dead and three others were injured. Indications suggested they could be linked to a second mall robbery.
Call Crime Stop on 08600 10111 or SMS Crime Line at 32211 with information that can assist the police in their investigations.
Incidents in the past month:
September 8: The Glen Shopping Centre, Ormonde is the latest mall to be targeted by armed robbers who make off with cellphones.
September 6: Security guard shot dead, four others injured when robbers fire on a cash-in-transit van at the Diepkloof Black Chain Mall.
September 5: Six robbers target a cellphone and tablet store at the The Cradlestone Mall in Muldersdrift.
September 4: A clothing store at the Worldwear Shopping Centre in Fairland is robbed by eight armed men.
September 2: Robbers hold up a cellphone store in the Eastgate Shopping Centre.
September 2: The Telkom Connect Store in the Kolonnade Shopping Centre, Pretoria, is robbed of goods worth R200 000.
September 1: Six men hit a cash-in-transit van at Maponya Mall, Klipspruit, and flee with an undisclosed amount of money.
September 1: Two men hold up a cellphone shop in the Northgate Mall and flee with mobile devices and cash.
August 22: Four men rob about R1 million worth of devices from the iStore at the Centurion Mall.
August 14: Three men pose as customers before robbing the Apple iStore at The Glen Shopping Mall.
August 13: A man is shot and wounded when three armed robbers open fire during a robbery at the Apple iStore in the Cresta Shopping Mall.
The Star