Cape Town - A response to a stolen Checkers Sixty/60 delivery scooter by the City’s Auxiliary Law Enforcement volunteers led to a possible syndicate in Steenberg where stolen scooters were recovered.
Safety and Security mayco member JP Smith said law-enforcement volunteers were asked to assist a vehicle tracking company which tracked the scooter to a property in Steenberg at the weekend.
The officers also discovered an assortment of disassembled scooters at the premises.
On questioning the owner further, Smith said the officers were led to a locked shed where they discovered 12 scooters, all of which had been reported as stolen.
He said the owner was arrested for being in possession of stolen property, after admitting that the vehicles were destined for export and resale in East African districts, including Malawi.
This is while the Durbanville Community Policing Forum (CPF) warned the residents about the theft of motorcycles in the area. Although the CPF could not specify the number of stolen motorcycles, it said recent reports indicated that motorcycle theft was on the increase in the area.
One of the food delivery drivers, Duanne Bernad, said with online food orders sky-rocketing over the years, this also provided an opportunity for criminals to pounce on unsuspecting drivers, gunning for their belongings.
He said Cape Town had fewer reported incidents compared with other cities in provinces such as Gauteng.
“Initially the criminals were targeting cellphones and cash, however they are now hijacking our bikes. In the past year, they have been taking bikes, especially in the Joburg area, and what we observed was that they keep finding the stolen bikes with the Malawian guys, and we believe that they are the ones stealing or robbing these bikes,” he said.
Bernad said although some delivery applications had emergency buttons, he said assistance arrived after the drivers had lost their belongings, with no rebates received from the app operators.
He said the drivers usually did not report the incidents, fearing being blocked from the apps. He said they viewed these robberies as part of the job.
Checkers supermarket was approached for comment but had not responded by deadline.
Smith said should more resources be required to investigate the syndicate and bring to justice all those involved, the City’s SSIU would make investigative resources available to the Steenberg police station detectives.