Durban - Close to R1million worth of gold and diamonds were stolen from
Jewel Exchange, in the Durban CBD, on Tuesday.
Two other shops in Salisbury Centre, on Anton Lembede (Smith) Street, were also burgled by a group of men.
Jewel Exchange owner Jhaver Khan said one of the burglars entered the centre’s arcade through the refuse collection area.
“He then broke the locks on the arcade door and let in others. The burglars first targeted two shops that sold food. In one of the stores, they smashed a hole into the wall to gain access to Jewel Exchange,” said Khan.
“When I arrived, my roller doors were still shut. When I opened them I was greeted by a heart-wrenching sight. The locks were cut on both access control gates. The wires for the alarm system were ripped off.”
ABOVE: Burglars crawled through a hole they made in a wall, leading to a jewellery store in central Durban.
Khan’s store had been ransacked and he said the burglary could have taken place between 10pm and 5am. Khan said they had ample time to cut and break open his safes.
“I deal in gold and diamonds. Some of the items stored were pawned by customers. In my 28 years in the business, I have never experienced something like this,” Khan said.
A jewellery shop in Salisbury's Arcade in Durban central on Anton Lembede Street was broken into last night the 11 February 2020. Picture: Nqobile Mbonambi/African News Agency(ANA)
Police spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbele said Durban Central SAPS have opened cases of burglary at a business premises.
She said an undisclosed amount
of money and a laptop were stolen from the first store and a glass door was damaged, and cash was taken
from another store.
“The complainant alleged that
on February 11, at 4.30pm, he
locked the business. When he came back on February 12, he noticed
that the door was broken and the CCTV hard drive and an undisclosed amount of cash was stolen,”
Mbele said.