Four Hyde Park suspects arrested

<p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Soweto police have arrested four people for a robbery at the Hyde Park shopping centre this morning.<br /><br />Inspector Kay Makhubela said the four were arrested in Bram Fischer, Dobsonville, while they were off-loading computers stolen from a computer shop in the Hyde Park shopping centre.<br /><br />"They were found with six new computers, sound equipment and laptops," said Makhubela. Police also confiscated a firearm.<br /><br />"We suspect that they were involved in the robbery this morning," said Makhubela.<br /><br /><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414477475096909570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxOhqhhi_1DjxVN_nrK1D_FeSxJ4I977wvKwsiUOc1q0MNJE8nLEIxh3qKE-L-sLguc7pcmOpxnlpkyg9pBiDtKQb1Ux5I49YuMyiuo5Yk4sXRyrmaHvY7-Tw8vGLmjUv74ekp8W0AaSkO/s400/crime_sa_guns_pic300.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 120px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /><strong><span style="color:#990000;">A gang of 15 robbers armed with AK-47 assault rifles broke into Hyde Park shopping centre, north of Johannesburg, on Thursday morning.</span></strong><br /><br />"Around 4.30am, about 15 suspects broke the security door at the entrance and entered the shopping centre. They shot at security guards who shot back at them," said Inspector Moses Maphakela.<br /><br />Maphakela said the robbers, wearing balaclavas and gloves, stole an unknown amount of clothing.<br /><br />He said that while some of the gang members broke into the shop, others fired shots at the security guards. "The police are searching for 15 suspects; these people are armed with AK-47s, R5s and pistols."<br /><br />They sped off in a silver Mercedes-Benz C200. Its back windscreen was shattered in the shooting. The other getaway cars used were a white Honda Ballade and a silver grey double-cab Ford Ranger. </span><p></p>

Four Hyde Park suspects arrested

Soweto police have arrested four people for a robbery at the Hyde Park shopping centre this morning. Inspector Kay Makhubela said the four w...

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UK fans warned about hijacking

<p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">Warning for England fans</span></strong><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#990000;">England fans warned of World Cup ticket scams and crime</span></strong><br /><br /></span><a class="l" href="http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?England_fans_warned_of_World_Cup_ticket_scams_and_crime&in_article_id=735358&in_page_id=34" onmousedown="return clk(this.href,'','','res','1','&sig2=HbybvV3-ipzw47G8zZbyjQ','0CAgQFjAA')"><span style="font-family:arial;"><em>England fans warned of World Cup ticket scams and crime Metro.co.uk</em></span></a><em><br /></em><a class="link-text" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/sep/10/england-fans-tickets-south-africa-world-cup" name="&lid={trailItemImageAndTrailText}{England fans warned of ticket scams and tourist dangers in South Africa}&lpos={trail}{1}"><span style="font-family:arial;"><em>England fans warned of ticket scams and tourist dangers in South Africa</em></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><em><br /></em></span><a class="link-text" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/22/south-africa-worldcup-crime-fears" name="&lid={trailItemImageAndTrailText}{Crime fears grow as South Africa readies for football World Cup}&lpos={trail}{1}"><span style="font-family:arial;"><em>Crime fears grow as South Africa readies for football World Cup</em></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><em><br /></em></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOJV1MV1CNVW8IJxDdSSgVpGibnWXqps1HtGtl2wTBXxSx703vtBRZ6I0HRlhhcoteMM29O80UAF8ovjJKvhXLSxqaUGxFBeUOHIuPDyIxXdW1NKmXCSvY2p1oQTvXDuCTBkoIjAMjxKFM/s1600/englandfansST_warning.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5409696307231929042" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOJV1MV1CNVW8IJxDdSSgVpGibnWXqps1HtGtl2wTBXxSx703vtBRZ6I0HRlhhcoteMM29O80UAF8ovjJKvhXLSxqaUGxFBeUOHIuPDyIxXdW1NKmXCSvY2p1oQTvXDuCTBkoIjAMjxKFM/s400/englandfansST_warning.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 196px" /></a>Danny Jordaan has laughed off reports that British fans arriving in South Africa for next year's World Cup could be at risk of car hijacking when they leave OR Tambo International Airport.<br /><br />This comes as reports claim that the Gautrain Rapid Rail Link from the airport to Sandton City will not be ready.<br /><br />Gautrain concessionaire Bombela has a contractual agreement signed on September 28, 2006 to have the airport link operational by June 27, 2010. If they fail to meet this requirement, they run the risk of incurring penalties.<br /><br />Despite this, the British Foreign Office says fans hiring cars and taxis on arrival here should be on their guard.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi64gug1pOy9mociW__LT5WQ09SYSpSP1XBZpGDkCYGODdJcnDefOOe54Yz_bLQqhsoznZwe3WNh0mlfWPkvjuD68aEZ9ujuTZv1HZDbIx6LZOG8dTOEppKzK2Dgfhv-itcu53WaZQVvHAn/s1600/south-africans-2010.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5409699823261022546" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi64gug1pOy9mociW__LT5WQ09SYSpSP1XBZpGDkCYGODdJcnDefOOe54Yz_bLQqhsoznZwe3WNh0mlfWPkvjuD68aEZ9ujuTZv1HZDbIx6LZOG8dTOEppKzK2Dgfhv-itcu53WaZQVvHAn/s400/south-africans-2010.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 298px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 242px" /></a>"It is crucial that those planning to travel to the region are aware of what measures they should take to stay safe," Foreign Office Minister Chris Bryant was quoted as saying.<br /><br />Yesterday, the chief executive of the 2010 Local Organising Committee, Danny Jordaan, rubbished the concerns as baseless.<br /><br />"Their cricket team has been here for a while and we have had the British and Irish Lions tour coinciding with the Fifa Confederations Cup, but not a single incident was reported.<br /><br />"He said he was baffled by the reports. </span><p>

UK fans warned about hijacking

Warning for England fans England fans warned of World Cup ticket scams and crime England fans warned of World Cup ticket scams and crime Met...

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Scandal of the missing dockets

<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8RRXYGgJyrOis57lgf1jp2Ze0o1O0UX1P_th4Qg1dMiA68wkyzDeaNJlLbUdQPZiys0TY2mYlNsDTbSVPEwW1VfKVlju2kL4WTxPUoG0UCWEd9uEIDT1oXzhyphenhyphenosseQPdTvP_Ll1-nTE-C/s1600/crime_police_blotter.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5409661409852109762" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8RRXYGgJyrOis57lgf1jp2Ze0o1O0UX1P_th4Qg1dMiA68wkyzDeaNJlLbUdQPZiys0TY2mYlNsDTbSVPEwW1VfKVlju2kL4WTxPUoG0UCWEd9uEIDT1oXzhyphenhyphenosseQPdTvP_Ll1-nTE-C/s400/crime_police_blotter.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">Police officers lost 671 criminal dockets last year - in police stations. Now experts are pointing fingers at corrupt cops, saying this is the only explanation for a 1 500 percent spike in lost dockets in North West alone.</span></strong><br /><br />Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa is incensed and has ordered a high-level probe into the scandal. So far, five police officers have been disciplined and fired for corruption.<br /><br />In the 2007/08 reporting period, police lost 427 dockets, Mthethwa said, responding to a question in Parliament.<br /><br />North West alone accounts for more that 40 percent of all the lost dockets in 2007/08 - with 260 being reported as missing. The year before, the province's police lost 17 dockets.<br /><br />KwaZulu-Natal takes the second spot, losing 275 dockets in the past three years. The figures for Gauteng showed that 182 dockets were reported missing in the past three years.<br /><br />The Western Cape was the only province to improve. From losing 139 dockets in the past two financial years, it managed not to lose a single one between April and September this year.<br /><br />The best-performing province is Mpumalanga. Police personnel there lost six dockets in 2007, one last year and none this year.<br /><br />In the past seven months, 152 dockets were lost in police stations across the country. More than half in North West.<br /><br />North West's Community Policing Forum board chairman Leonard Brown blames the provincial commissioner, Lesetja Beetha. "Our provincial management is very poor. The buck stops with the provincial commissioner.<br /><br />"Everything that goes wrong in the province, he is aware of. But to be aware and doing something about it are two different things.<br /><br />"Our police are sometimes very innocent but management is failing them," said Brown.<br /><br />A crime expert has blamed poor management in the province, arguing that corruption, negligence and work overload were the main causes.<br /><br />Johan Burger of the Institute for Security Studies said poor "command and control" at police stations and a lack of discipline were behind the losses.<br /><br />"A number of cases are sold or destroyed because of corruption. In some cases, the investigators are over-laden with case dockets and can't deal with the workload."<br /><br />At the heart of the problem was the lack of leadership within the police, Burger said.<br /><br />"Where there is command and control, there is regular inspection of case dockets by the station commander... where they disappear, it shows this is not carried out," he said.<br /><br />Historically, provinces like North West and Limpopo experienced low levels of crime, but recent trends, said Burger, showed a spike in violent crime in these provinces.<br /><br />While Burger could not explain the sudden rise in certain types of crime, it could be a factor in increasing the workload for the police.<br /><br />"There are more case dockets, and some of these crime syndicates may want to bribe police to make the dockets disappear," said Burger.<br /><br />Provincial commissioners did not escape criticism.<br /><br />"This shows that command and control is lacking here. The provincial commissioners have an internal inspectorate. They must use the inspectorate to go and determine, first, how big the problem is and then determine why it is happening and who is responsible.<br /><br />If anyone is found to have been corrupted, they should be charged," Burger added.</span> <p><br /></p>

Scandal of the missing dockets

Police officers lost 671 criminal dockets last year - in police stations. Now experts are pointing fingers at corrupt cops, saying this is t...

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Hunt on for this man in parking lot shooting

<p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">THIS is the face of a man who private investigators believe was part of a gang who tried to kill a woman they had followed from a bank.</span></strong><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmg19tPu3NWPD581P0V7Ua1k83kuPQi2_XO2NBNT9X7TGMhUMcBmrdBRPYJynESL51aCrmbYQ24Fw6s5Z_F6m7FvY9XZbHYUG8XWnCScrDliUIsOVl_ccYKItlcgbUwtEKH-oDt0SJJQI/s1600/criminal-wanted.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406269416617214546" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmg19tPu3NWPD581P0V7Ua1k83kuPQi2_XO2NBNT9X7TGMhUMcBmrdBRPYJynESL51aCrmbYQ24Fw6s5Z_F6m7FvY9XZbHYUG8XWnCScrDliUIsOVl_ccYKItlcgbUwtEKH-oDt0SJJQI/s400/criminal-wanted.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 292px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" /></a>Saartjie Koen survived when the bullet fired pointblank at the back of her head grazed her skull.<br /><br />Her ordeal was captured on closed-circuit television two months ago.<br /><br />Now private investigators, who are trying to crack the case hope that a state-of-the-art identikit will help track down one of the suspects.<br /><br />The man in the identikit is believed to be between 20 and 23 years old, about 1.75 metres tall and speaks with a Northern Sesotho and Setswana accent. He also had a small moustache.<br /><br />Jeanette Naudé, who compiled the composite and profile, suspects that the man has robbed before, because he didn’t appear nervous during the robbery.<br /><br />Naudé developed the technique she used to compile a photo-likeness of the robber. She starts by drawing a sketch of the suspect, then, using an archive of photographs and the software program Photoshop, builds a face of the suspect.<br /><br />“In this case I would say that the compilation is about 70 percent accurate. It all has a lot to do with the person who we worked with,” said Naudé, who served 34 years in the SA Police Service before starting her own company, Crime Face.<br /><br />The robbery took place in August in the car park of Trio Trade in Silverton, Tshwane.<br />CCTV footage revealed just how close Koen, 60, came to dying. The images show Koen driving into the premises of her family-owned business after she had withdrawn R50 000 at a bank in the area.<br /><br />What she didn’t notice was a white VW Polo pulling up to the gate of the premises. One of the occupants of the car held up the security guard at the gate while two accomplices approached Koen’s car.<br /><br />One of the men opened fire on Koen, hitting her in the right leg and left arm. As the man tried to grab her handbag, Koen fought back.<br /><br />His accomplice then came up behind her, placed his arm around her neck and shot her. The shot forced her to the ground.<br /><br />The robbers then made their escape.<br /><br />The CCTV footage indicated that a second vehicle, a white Toyota Venture, was involved.<br /><br />Koen is still recovering from the attack.<br /><br /></p><p align="center"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406271505510620530" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDebnLpXB-NKyeBfUhNLeezwilNZCUi4Nn4hPs5iePxmFyAj2V1oOgaCM2_rA36cK7FXlvxPpclSebsAj_1j_qPiyGBSKHQVA21044-wLChqfYGPD3a43lQwcR1Xl94_7753f8wgWXJis/s400/crime-violent-attack.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 269px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /><span style="font-size:85%;color:#000099;"><em>VIOLENT ATTACK: CCTV footage shows Saartjie Koen being robbed and shot in a parking lot.</em></span></p><p>In an article that appeared in The Star last week, private investigator Daryl Els, of Christian Botha Investigations, appealed for Nombuso Nkosi to come forward as he believed she had information on the crime. She did come forward, and Els said she had been helpful.<br /><br />Els received another tip-off in the form of a phone call to a member of the Koen family.<br /><br />“A man claimed he was the driver of the Toyota Venture mentioned in The Star article.<br /><br />He said he hadn’t been paid his cut and that they then tried to murder him,” Els said.<br /><br />The man, whose name is known to The Star but can’t be identified as he is yet to be arrested, claimed he was hiding out in Polokwane.<br /><br />“He said he would like to tell us what happened and wanted R400 petrol money so that he could drive back to Pretoria,” explained Els.<br /><br />The man was supposed to meet Els on Thursday but didn’t pitch up.<br /><br />Anyone who recognises the suspect can call Els at 082 877 2168 or Frans Molokome at 082 682 0161.<br /></span><br /></p><em><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><span style="color:#000099;">See Video -</span></strong> </span></em><a href="http://southafrica-pig.blogspot.com/2009/11/white-afrikaner-woman-survives-shot-to.html"><em><span style="font-family:arial;">Woman survives shot to the head by armed gang : VIDEO</span></em></a> <p></p>

Hunt on for this man in parking lot shooting

THIS is the face of a man who private investigators believe was part of a gang who tried to kill a woman they had followed from a bank. Saar...

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Gauteng's most wanted criminal finally nabbed

<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmiEua1bUyk0YjRslVp-6Wh2HzhVt29aON-jxt3eMfs4dwifgU1rO2pEAz32kFh5p7lm0KL-BWG5pO3cMomKanPXJ8z3va-7IWGKbh4faAXIAty8ng4NhI7vWtzkfetf2TNz_cCq4IDvc/s1600-h/Crime-shootout-rolex-gang.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403668686276959906" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmiEua1bUyk0YjRslVp-6Wh2HzhVt29aON-jxt3eMfs4dwifgU1rO2pEAz32kFh5p7lm0KL-BWG5pO3cMomKanPXJ8z3va-7IWGKbh4faAXIAty8ng4NhI7vWtzkfetf2TNz_cCq4IDvc/s400/Crime-shootout-rolex-gang.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">As the bullets tore through the silver Mercedes-Benz, Kelvin Ludidi had no other option but to jump out of the moving vehicle and try his luck on foot.<br /><br />He had already run down a police superintendent - sending him flying over his bonnet - bumped five cars and sped into oncoming traffic with the speedometer needle hurtling towards 200km/h.<br /><br />As he leapt out onto West Street in the Sandton CBD, a bullet slammed into his left arm. Defeated, he went down and was immediately handcuffed. His car was still rolling and an officer jumped in to stop it.<br /><br />Yesterday's dramatic chase through the busy financial hub netted one of Gauteng's most wanted criminals and a man police believe is linked to the notorious Rolex Gang. </span><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><em><span style="color:#000099;">See -</span> </em><a class="sectlink" href="http://gallery.iol.co.za/v/iolnews/Gang+member+nabbed+after+high_speed+chase+11_11_2009/"><em>Gallery: Gang member nabbed after high-speed chase</em></a><br /><br />At the scene, police spokesman Inspector Moses Maphakela said he was confident the man would be linked to at least 60 cases of violent robberies - especially those committed in driveways.<br /><br />Ludidi is currently out on R10 000 bail for a 2007 case of armed robbery in which a gang followed a couple from the Sandton City shopping mall. The suspects were later arrested with the aid of CCTV footage at the centre. At the time, it seems Ludidi was also on bail for another armed robbery.<br /><br />Ludidi’s last crime allegedly involved eight armed men and a cigarette truck hijacking worth R250 000 in Randburg last week. Police are also linking Ludidi to the Sandon Knife Gang, driveway crimes and crimes involving people followed from Sandton City shopping mall.<br /><br />It all began in the parking lot of Morningside Clinic, where police had set up a trap for Ludidi. Police sources said that as he drove in, a superintendent in charge of the Trio Task Team, Alexandra cluster, jumped out to make the arrest. Ludidi then allegedly drove straight into the superintendent.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8sogfJwd1jui1zuPofRpHulbwJoxdoJJti6hr84l9rKaYq72uN84rsHCbpuUBAlC4H0RX607yb0nNE06psKqa6Wqjv1nbRzDRSGYpzWX5Y-Sn6k1X8GtpVUlhuQ6s9TvMdXMxUTv355s/s1600-h/CRIME-ROLEX-GANG-Kelvin+Ludidi.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403518663781633682" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8sogfJwd1jui1zuPofRpHulbwJoxdoJJti6hr84l9rKaYq72uN84rsHCbpuUBAlC4H0RX607yb0nNE06psKqa6Wqjv1nbRzDRSGYpzWX5Y-Sn6k1X8GtpVUlhuQ6s9TvMdXMxUTv355s/s400/CRIME-ROLEX-GANG-Kelvin+Ludidi.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 396px" /></a>"He tried to run him down," a source said. "One of the (police) vehicles tried to block him, but he crashed into the car. He hit another three vehicles and went out onto Benmore Street."<br /><br />Two officers from the task team had heard the gunshots fired by the superintendent moments after he was knocked down. Speeding around the corner, they saw the Mercedes-Benz and gave chase.<br /><br />They raced into oncoming traffic, following Ludidi as he bumped into another car and forced his way across Grayston Drive. According to sources, the police were driving at around 200km/h to catch up with their man.<br /><br />It was just after Grayston Drive that the officers began shooting. About 10 rounds were fired before Ludidi surrendered. Some of the bullets from a police rifle punched through the boot but lodged in the driver's seat.<br /><br />Ludidi did not have a chance to shoot at the officers, but a pistol was found in his car.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">While police gathered evidence from the bullet-riddled car, Ludidi was taken to hospital under heavy police guard.<br /><br />The alleged mastermind behind the notorious ‘Rolex Gang’, Kelvin Ludidi, was linked to - or even a kingpin of - the so-called Rolex Gang. He is allegedly linked to to at least 60 cases of violent robberies in the Northern suburbs including those of socialite Edith Venter, attorney Billy Gundelfinger and Discovery Health’s Adrian Gore. </span></p>

Gauteng's most wanted criminal finally nabbed

As the bullets tore through the silver Mercedes-Benz, Kelvin Ludidi had no other option but to jump out of the moving vehicle and try his lu...

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Woman survives shot to the head by armed gang : VIDEO

<p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Saartjie Koen was meant to die. A robber had grabbed her around the neck, put a pistol to her head and pulled the trigger.<br /><br />Instead the bullet grazed Koen's skull, knocking her to the ground. Her assailants grabbed her handbag, then ran off, one of them pausing to kick her in the head as he made his escape.<br /><br />The robbery, captured on closed-circuit television, took less than a minute from the time Koen drove into the car park to when the three robbers climbed back into their white VW Golf.<br /><br />Miraculously, Koen, 60, who was left lying in the driveway, was alive after being shot three times in the leg, arm and head.<br /><br />Two months later Koen is still recovering, but no one has been arrested for the robbery that took place in Silverton, Tshwane. It is for this reason that her husband Hannes opted to hire a private investigator.<br /><br />Now Daryl Els, of Christian Botha Investigations, believes he is on the trail of a gang of robbers who operate from Tembisa and specialise in what police refer to as associated robberies.<br /><br />This involves robbing victims after they leave a bank having withdrawn a large amount of cash. The gang has, over several months, targeted Pretoria's eastern suburbs. Els wants to talk to an 18-year-old woman called Nombuso Nkosi who he believes could have information about the robbery. She lives in Tembisa.<br /><br />In August, Koen, on her way to work, was followed from a Silverton branch of Absa Bank after she had withdrawn R50 000. Afterwards she drove to her family business, Trio Trade. As she parked her car, she didn't notice the white Golf pull up outside the gate.<br /><br />One of the men knocked out the security guard.<br /><br />"As I was getting out of the car, the two were on me. They didn't talk, they just shot," Koen recalled.<br /><br />One of the robbers fired twice, hitting Koen in the right leg and left arm. The man tried to grab her handbag, but Koen fought back. Then his accomplice came up behind her, put his arm around her neck and shot her.<br /><br />Just metres away, in his office, Hannes saw what was happening. He saw the gun pushed against her head, and a puff of smoke as the bullet left the barrel. "At that moment I thought she was dead," he said. But Koen was conscious.<br /><br />"I was fine. I was screaming 'please help'. There was blood streaming from me," she said. Seconds later, her husband rushed her to hospital.<br /><br />What can be seen in the CCTV footage is another vehicle, believed to be a white Toyota Venture, following the Golf.<br /><br />"The Venture probably had the spotter, who identified the target," said Els.<br /><br />The usual modus operandi is that the spotter watches out for a target in the bank, then leaves the bank and passes on the information to the robbers, who commit the crime.<br /><br />Police say associated robberies are on the increase, as criminals are finding bank customers softer targets than cash-in-transit vans.<br /><br />They are also more violent.<br /><br />Police believe the gang that tried to kill Koen is probably the same one operating from Tembisa responsible for a spate of robberies. The gang is believed to have more than 20 members.<br /><br />Koen will go into surgery on November 13. She hopes to regain full use of her wrist.<br /><br />She hasn't seen the CCTV footage of the robbery - and doesn't know if she wants to.<br /><br /><object height="349" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/mPkrjjM0GS8&border=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mPkrjjM0GS8&border=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="425" height="349"></embed></object><br /><br />Anyone with information on Nombuso Nkosi can call Daryl Els at 082 877 2168 or Frans Molokome at 082 682 0161. </span><p></p>

Woman survives shot to the head by armed gang : VIDEO

Saartjie Koen was meant to die. A robber had grabbed her around the neck, put a pistol to her head and pulled the trigger. Instead the bulle...

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Warning - Thieves stealing cars from dealership service depts

<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHWBT1vnEdbjqDKqhBdxHTCyBWjAJvNJqjU9wixgLRXT88EqnEKQvbO4nFjVmki86CDt5v1RlOU5T9YEDvsTtgPiQH7Vo3Xc_NfCOR1pwfGpz-QpSNuBwDSGqArzWVFQZBkbJ494VQH6w/s1600-h/Audi+S3+2002+Fitted.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399722775876033890" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHWBT1vnEdbjqDKqhBdxHTCyBWjAJvNJqjU9wixgLRXT88EqnEKQvbO4nFjVmki86CDt5v1RlOU5T9YEDvsTtgPiQH7Vo3Xc_NfCOR1pwfGpz-QpSNuBwDSGqArzWVFQZBkbJ494VQH6w/s320/Audi+S3+2002+Fitted.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">Thieves have found an alarmingly novel way to bag themselves a car, freshly serviced and washed, some even with the keys in the ignition - they're preying on the service departments of motor dealerships.</span></strong><br /><br />Imagine taking your car for a service and being told by the dealership later that day: "So sorry, we can't seem to find your car..."<br /><br />That thieves are choosing to steal used cars from the service department rather than new cars from the gleaming showroom floors on the other side of the dealership says volumes about which is considered to be the softer target.<br /><br />There is talk of syndicates acting with help on the inside, but in any event, in many cases the brazen crime is successfully carried out thanks to appalling negligence, with keys being allowed to be left in ignitions and none of the prescribed security safeguards, such as signed security slips, being enforced.<br /><br />You'd think the dealerships would be mortified at allowing their client's second most important asset to be stolen while in their care, and do everything possible to ensure they - that's the clients - don't suffer any financial loss as a result. But you'd very likely be wrong.<br /><br />Allowing the victim to use a loan car temporarily, and paying their insurance excess of a few thousand rands, is about as much responsibility for the lapse that most dealerships are willing to take, almost always requiring the victims to dig into their own pockets for a similar new set of wheels.<br /><br />Pensioner Franco Simonetti took his Audi A3 Sportback, which had done about 80 000km, to The Glen Volkswagen on September 2 for a check-up, as he was planning a trip to Kruger National Park. He'd bought the car new from the dealership in 2005.<br /><br />The car was stolen from the wash bay that afternoon, the keys having been left in the ignition.<br /><br />"What a shock!" he says.<br /><br />"You worry that your car may be stolen from a street or a shopping centre, but not your motor dealership."<br /><br />Simonetti's insurance paid out R137 500, quite a bit short of the car's book value of R150 000, and he expected the dealership to pay the difference. They refused.<br /><br />"Instead, they are offering me cars to the value of R137 500, all of which are vastly inferior to the car which was stolen," he told me.<br /><br />"They have given me a Polo as a loan car and have threatened to take it away if I go to the newspapers. Can you please help?"<br /><br />Asked to respond, Paul Boyce, general manager of The Glen Volkswagen, said it was not normal practice to leave the keys in the vehicle "unless we are moving the car".<br /><br />"Unfortunately the car was in the wash process when this incident occurred and this is being investigated by our wash bay and security companies as well as by our own investigators," he said.<br /><br />Boyce said Simonetti had been offered second-hand Audis and a new Polo, which the dealership offered to service up to the 45 000km service, all of which he had refused.<br /><br />"We understand that Mr Simonetti does not want to be in a position where he is worse off than before this incident, but we are not in a position to enrich him with a newer or more expensive vehicle through the process," he said.<br /><br />Simonetti is adamant that he's not seeking enrichment, just a replacement car as similar as possible to the one which was stolen, something which is apparently not possible with his insurance pay-out.<br /><br />Given that the dealership failed to exercise due care to safeguard his car, he feels they should pay the shortfall. The dealership refused and insisted that he return their "courtesy" car last Tuesday.<br /><br />Boyce states: "We are being asked the impossible by Mr Simonetti in terms of what he expects as a replacement.<br /><br />"Within reason and the money he has available we have offered every vehicle we have come across to him. What we have tried to do is to assist in the replacement of the stolen car. At no point have we tried to make 'a sale' or a profit.<br /><br />"What needs to be clear is that we are not in a position to just hand over a cheque for a perceived amount.<br /><br />"Our dealership staff members were not involved in this theft issue; the staff members from the security company have been dismissed.<br /><br />"If Mr Simonetti wants more money than the insurance pay-out he needs to take some action either through his insurance or the ombudsman from either the insurance or motor industry.<br /><br />"His insurance payout is the value of the car that was stolen," Boyce insisted.<br /><br />Strange, then, that a similar replacement can't be found at that price.<br /><br />"That car was supposed to be my last car, my retirement car," Simonetti says. "I looked after it like a baby; it had new tyres... but they don't seem to care."<br /><br />It was reported last week that the Sandton car theft unit was investigating several cases of theft of cars from motor dealerships, including that of Ralph Manhile, whose two-year-old Hilux 4x4 was stolen from Rivonia Toyota about 10 days ago.<br /><br />The last person to park it was reportedly a car washer employed by Africa Cleaning Services, a BEE company sub-contracted to Toyota.<br /><br />In April, Ryan Polayya responded to an appeal from Volkswagen South Africa to take his 2007 Polo TDi Sportline to a dealership as part of the manufacturer's turbo recall.<br /><br />He booked his car in at Lindsay Saker Midrand and by mid-afternoon staff admitted they had no idea where his car was and asked him to activate his tracking device.<br /><br />That was unsuccessful and Polayya was loaned a dilapidated car for the Easter weekend.<br /><br />The dealer principle at the time, who has since left, said he was prepared to pay Polayya's insurance excess of R2 000, and that was it.<br /><br />He told me a security company was investigating how the car came to be stolen, without a signed security slip, but neither Polayya nor myself were ever told the outcome of that investigation, despite frequent requests.<br /><br />Two months later Polayya was paid out by his insurance company, which was just enough to settle his outstanding loan amount, leaving Polayya out of pocket.<br /><br />Two months after the car was stolen it was recovered in Ivory Park and two people were arrested.<br /><br />"The car had been in an accident, though, so the insurance company did not give it back to me," Polayya said.<br /><br />He is due to give evidence as a witness in the theft trial next week.<br /><br />"The dealership still has no clue how the car was stolen and I don't think they are really bothered, not even after I told one the sales managers that people have been arrested," he said.<br /><br />The incident has prejudiced Polayya in terms of motor insurance.<br /><br />"I have a problem getting reasonable insurance as I am now regarded as high-risk because of claiming for my car being stolen," he said.<br /><br />Jeff Osborne, CEO of the Retail Motor Industry Organisation (RMI), said he wasn't aware of the trend (of cars being stolen from motor dealership service departments) but said it was "very worrying indeed".<br /><br />"We will send a circular to the dealerships stressing the need for them to tighten their security procedures in order to safeguard their customers' cars while in their care, because they are responsible for the negligent actions of their employees."<br /><br />If it was the dealerships, rather than their customers, who suffered the biggest financial loss when cars were stolen from their service departments, they'd no doubt regard this trend in an altogether different light.<br /><br />As always, companies ought to be judged not by their mistakes, but how they choose to take responsibility for them. </span><p><br /></p>

Warning - Thieves stealing cars from dealership service depts

Thieves have found an alarmingly novel way to bag themselves a car, freshly serviced and washed, some even with the keys in the ignition - t...

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Eastern Cape no safe haven against crime

<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOHOWloTXRQAEX-3INV4oXQE63zJKDC_vNgv9SMYpdS23fz2h0sOcz3skstEO7AwFYhu-PchqcvtjQlQa3Ufw1XdYQY6ec6WOdAAOyfymjS5dcewpzPomG2q5g9iNhB6f_CVOUI85E27hd/s1600-h/crime_armed_response_ii.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333232531408420034" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOHOWloTXRQAEX-3INV4oXQE63zJKDC_vNgv9SMYpdS23fz2h0sOcz3skstEO7AwFYhu-PchqcvtjQlQa3Ufw1XdYQY6ec6WOdAAOyfymjS5dcewpzPomG2q5g9iNhB6f_CVOUI85E27hd/s400/crime_armed_response_ii.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 279px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">STARTLING evidence of Eastern Cape residents being among the most targeted victims of certain crimes in South Africa has shattered perceptions of the province as a relatively safe haven.</span></strong><br /><br />An in-depth <a href="http://www.theherald.co.za/images/docvault/risk.pdf">security report</a> has revealed the region ranks among the four hardest-hit of the country‘s nine provinces when it comes to specific crimes, while the Western Cape – including the Southern Cape region – fares much worse in some cases.<br /><br />The report, released by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and titled “Who is Most at Risk?”, is a comprehensive study of the chances of people falling victim to crime that shows demographics like age, gender, race, marital status and area of residence.<br /><br />Among the most alarming evidence to emerge is that those who have adopted security measures to safeguard their homes are in fact more likely to be targeted than those who have not, while residents in areas with a high police or security company presence are only marginally safer than those where security personnel are scarce.<br /><br />“Those taking measures to protect their household from crime were no less likely to experience crime than those not adopting measures, and in fact, were more likely to be have been victimised,” said ISS researcher Robyn Pharoah, who authored the report.<br /><br />Based on the institute‘s 2007 crime survey involving face-to-face interviews with 5000 people throughout the country, the report highlights five categories of crimes which victims typically face: burglary, property theft, car break-ins, robbery and assault.<br /><br />Of the five categories, the Eastern Cape fared badly in three while the Western Cape was dismal in four.<br /><br />The report shows that of the respondents in the nine provinces:<br /><br />Eastern Cape residents are the third most targeted when it comes to robbery, after the Western Cape and Limpopo. Black male pensioners, as well as singletons and city-dwellers, are most at risk.<br /><br />Eastern Cape car owners also suffer the third-highest vehicle break-ins, after Gauteng and KwaZulu Natal. Single white women between 16 and 25 are the most targeted; black men the least.<br /><br />Eastern Cape residents have the fourth-highest incidence of property theft, with black men between 16 and 25 living in the city the most targeted. Indian women and pensioners are least at risk.<br /><br />On the upside, when it comes to assault, Eastern Cape residents are the fourth safest – Free State is safest – but the Western Cape has the fourth-highest incidence of assault, with the Northern Cape worst off. White men between 16 and 25 are the most likely targets, coloured women over 65 are the safest.<br /><br />Eastern Cape homeowners are also fourth-safest when it comes to burglary, the highest incidence being in KwaZulu Natal. Large coloured households are most at risk; small, white, rural families are safest.<br /><br />Fellow researchers have concurred with Pharoah‘s findings, saying victimisation trends differed according to provinces.<br /><br />“People in different socio- economic situations would have varying risks of victimisation and certain demographics are affected differently,” said Paulin Mbecke, senior researcher at the CSIR. “Some of our provinces are more rural and others more urban, and those characteristics will impact on the incidences of crime.<br /><br />“But we must remember that just because people are poor, it doesn‘t mean they will turn to crime.”<br /><br />Security companies have said as crime in the province becomes more rampant, residents must up their proactive measures to safeguard themselves.<br /><br />Safety analysts said proactive community-based programmes like neighbourhood patrols helped reduce criminal activity significantly.<br /><br />“People need to be vigilant when approaching their cars after shopping, and when they get home they should lock the doors,” said Atlas security company operations manager Monty Montgomery. “In many house robberies, residents have fallen asleep watching TV with a door left open.”<br /><br />Montgomery said while it was difficult to prevent assaults, one thing residents could do was to prevent criminals from getting into their personal space.<br /><br />“The main thing is to prevent perpetrators from getting too close, because after that it doesn‘t matter how strong you are, they‘ll take you on,” he said.<br /><br />He said vehicles should also be parked within properties to prevent break-ins, and security gates kept locked.<br /><br />But according to Pharoah, even taking the utmost precautions could not always prevent crimes.<br /><br />It was tougher for criminals to operate in areas where community members knew and looked out for one another, she said. </span><p></p>

Eastern Cape no safe haven against crime

STARTLING evidence of Eastern Cape residents being among the most targeted victims of certain crimes in South Africa has shattered perceptio...

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Beware of deadly 'bank queue gangs'

<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxIzOl2gejnzViH2vyZ3QVAbYm7aGWKfMy4Wct7UKanTFh-p4IeSR3mE4IrEnIAvYSrAdoza9xoRZOqraoQxsr4eQXrivUYESWzGL4N_CrMdJiD96eDW3RMds4m1zWiPEAb5RsDNALxLRK/s1600-h/cash_briefcase.gif"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324301012036583250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxIzOl2gejnzViH2vyZ3QVAbYm7aGWKfMy4Wct7UKanTFh-p4IeSR3mE4IrEnIAvYSrAdoza9xoRZOqraoQxsr4eQXrivUYESWzGL4N_CrMdJiD96eDW3RMds4m1zWiPEAb5RsDNALxLRK/s320/cash_briefcase.gif" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 277px" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><em><span style="color:#990000;">These crime syndicates are in some instances linked to bank employees. When clients withdrew a large sum of money the bank employees tip-off the criminals who wait for the clients as they leave the bank with the cash. They then follow them, attack and rob them.</span></em><br /><br />Kevin Harbour's mistake was to walk into a bank carrying a silver briefcase. Minutes after leaving the Absa branch in Southdale, Joburg, he became a victim of the Bank Queue Gang - and a week later he was dead.<br /><br />His killers were a criminal outfit who look for soft targets, such as clients leaving the security of the bank precinct carrying cash. In the past 12 months, at least five people have died as a result of such robberies.<br /><br />One of those victims was a policeman and another was 27-year-old Anton Dippenaar, who was shot in the chest in front of his three-year-old son.<br /><br />Police call such crimes "client robberies", while the banking sector refers to them as "associated crimes".<br /><br />By definition, the crime occurs when a client leaves a bank, is followed and robbed. The victims are often tradesmen, who draw large amounts of cash on a Thursday to pay their casual labourers the following day.<br /><br />That was what happened when Harbour left the Absa bank at Southdale Mall on September 8 last year. Harbour, a plumber, had gone to the bank to cash a R3 000 cheque.<br /><br />"He had that stupid briefcase with him, that was why he was killed," said Harbour's brother Craig. "They thought he was carrying a lot of money."<br /><br />Just blocks from the bank, Harbour was forced off the road by a black VW Polo. Two of the occupants, armed with 9mm pistols, opened fire at Harbour through both the passenger- and driver-side windows of his bakkie.<br /><br />A bullet struck Harbour, piercing his liver.<br /><br />"He put the car into reverse and got away, then drove to the Robertsham hotel, where he phoned me," said Craig.<br /><br />Harbour was rushed to the Garden City Clinic, but died days later. The robbers didn't take his silver briefcase or any of the money.<br /><br />The police are still looking for his killers. Soon after the murder, Craig hired private investigator Christian Botha to help find his brother's killers.<br /><br />During the course of his investigations, Botha got a glimpse into the workings of the Bank Queue Gang.<br /><br />The linchpin of the gang is the "spotter". Spotters blend in, wait in bank queues and look for a target. Sometimes, they don't even need to see the money, they hear it.<br /><br />"They will listen for the noise of the cash machine counting out money," explained Botha.<br /><br />To make themselves appear legitimate, spotters will deposit small amounts of cash or ask a teller for change. Using a cellphone, the spotter will then quickly pass on information.<br /><br />They will describe what their target is wearing and sometimes even inform the "shooters" outside in which pocket the money is being held. Outside, the shooters will pick up the target and begin following on foot or by car.<br /><br />The actual hit is quick and sometimes, as in Harbour's case, the gang is violent.<br /><br />A bank is chosen, says Botha, in relation to how close they are to a highway for a quick getaway and how much security is around.<br /><br />A typical gang, says Botha, is made up of about four members. The spoils are good and without the risks associated with robbing banks or cash-in transit vans.<br /><br />There have even been instances in which customers have been robbed of hundreds of thousands of rands. In a couple of months, a gang can net more than R1 million.<br /><br />Bank customers are not just followed. Sometimes the robbers strike as they head to the bank to deposit money.<br /><br />"The challenge here is the fact that this type of crime is traditionally underreported and therefore there is no sufficient data to benchmark against," said Kevin Twiname, head of the Violent Crime Office at the SA Banking Risk Information Centre.<br /><br />In an effort to stop client robberies, he said, the banking industry was working with and supporting various law enforcement agencies.<br /><br />"Bank staff also advise clients of alternative banking products, such as electronic transfers, and warn them of the dangers of carrying large sums of money when assisting them with transactions involving large cash withdrawals," he explained.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><p>

Beware of deadly 'bank queue gangs'

These crime syndicates are in some instances linked to bank employees. When clients withdrew a large sum of money the bank employees tip-off...

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Hundreds of shopping malls robbed in South Africa

<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYNaPxZ98CCXRIBcVC8GnX_Ipq5hnV-lWkgwHmfghhxMSVTxS8xTPisXE5V0cY3ZBW02ney63TeKSYnEFEDNW46a4uCphdDQAqTU_-Ls53znD6_VT8CxDstbwPtAJlg6JVAiT8Bu_JW2E/s1600-h/sa_shopping_mall_sandton_city.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313023407141838738" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYNaPxZ98CCXRIBcVC8GnX_Ipq5hnV-lWkgwHmfghhxMSVTxS8xTPisXE5V0cY3ZBW02ney63TeKSYnEFEDNW46a4uCphdDQAqTU_-Ls53znD6_VT8CxDstbwPtAJlg6JVAiT8Bu_JW2E/s400/sa_shopping_mall_sandton_city.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">More than 400 shopping malls in South Africa have been hit by armed robberies since June 2008, the vast majority of them in Gauteng.</span></strong><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">This week, two more robberies took place in Gauteng.<br /><br />One was in the early hours of Thursday morning, at the Woodmead Value Centre in Sandton, when an armed gang of 21 stormed in, firing a hail of bullets, critically wounded two guards and cleaning out the Audio-Visual shop. The other was just six hours later at a store in the Balfour Park shopping centre in Highlands North.<br /><br />In a step to deal with crime at malls, a Shopping Mall Security Initiative was formed between the police, shopping centres and Business Against Crime.<br /><br />But this week BAC's Jenny Irish said they were still struggling to break the backs of the syndicates, who are usually highly organised.<br /><br />While some of the larger managing companies have installed sophisticated security measures, Business Against Crime this week said it was the smaller malls that were not being proactive about security.<br /><br />In 2008 the Saturday Star reported that malls that have been hit included Westgate, Fourways Mall, The Greenstone in Edenvale, Bryanston Centre, The Glen, Sandton City, Clearwater Mall in Roodepoort, East Rand Mall, Eastgate and Balfour Park.<br /><br />There have also been robberies in Witbank, Springs, Alberton, and Brooklyn and Garsfontein in Tshwane.<br /><br />Although there has been a perception that the mall robberies have decreased, BAC has reported around 400 incidents since June - that's about 40 incidents a month.<br /><br />"The problem is that these men are very organised," said Irish.<br /><br />"There are some opportunistic incidents but most of these incidents are quite clearly planned and organised."<br /><br />In the majority of the cases, the people involved pose as ordinary customers, and whip out their guns once they are inside the shop.<br /><br />It's only in the after-hours incidents that large numbers of men are involved.<br /><br />About 20 to 30 percent of incidents happened after hours, with the targets usually being electronic goods or high value clothing.<br /><br />Other targets include jewellery stores, restaurants and stores where there is a large amount of cash.<br /></span></span><p></p>

Hundreds of shopping malls robbed in South Africa

More than 400 shopping malls in South Africa have been hit by armed robberies since June 2008, the vast majority of them in Gauteng. This we...

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South African Airways a hub for drug-smuggling gangs

<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcE9eBBctALqSgSkc-S07stRkge1frdXT9VxRnVYqINjyFBIgcjt7I7cpgWjPDQl1q3tM74gjIGS9nC1qXIPma_ZjC-yceOXlWPFA3JBOE2RSc-_rbtkXuwDby1KX5esCAbXFLJL2d86Q/s1600-h/saadrug.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305805740711625170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcE9eBBctALqSgSkc-S07stRkge1frdXT9VxRnVYqINjyFBIgcjt7I7cpgWjPDQl1q3tM74gjIGS9nC1qXIPma_ZjC-yceOXlWPFA3JBOE2RSc-_rbtkXuwDby1KX5esCAbXFLJL2d86Q/s400/saadrug.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 250px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 238px" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">South African Airways pilots and air stewardesses are wary of their colleagues. They don't know who to trust and are well aware they could be part of the next crew bust with drugs at Heathrow airport in the UK.</span></strong><br /><br />International drug smugglers have targeted SAA to move their products into the United Kingdom and Europe. This "drug smuggling plague" SAA is experiencing is a movement of drugs in a supply chain from South-east Asia and South America into Africa, as a hub or transit point into Europe</span><em>.</em><a href="http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/267380"><em>see</em></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Kenya Airways had a similar problem with drug smuggling some time ago, and when they tightened it up, Kenya became unattractive to the trade. The UK police also commented that to see two entire airline crews arrested within just a month of each other, was 'highly unusual'</span>. </span><a href="http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/267427"><em><span style="font-family:arial;">see</span></em></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">The CEO told the parliamentary committe that after Kenya became unattractive to drug-smugglers, it was the turn of SAA to be targetted.<br /><br />"We have asked for help. SAA can't do this alone. It is not SAA's sole responsibility to fight crime. It is something that needs the collective effort of all players at the airport," Smyth said.<br /><br />And crew members who are interviewed are too terrified to talk. "We don't know who to talk to, who to trust. We don't know who else is involved. There is so much animosity and uncertainty at the moment. We are all afraid to go to London now," said an air stewardess, who did not want to be named. They are also terrified to reveal their names and would only speak if their names weren't quoted</span>. </span><a href="http://www.da.org.za/newsroom.htm?action=view-news-item&id=6425"><em><span style="font-family:arial;">see</span></em></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><em><br /></em><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">The crew members tell a harrowing tale: of airline crews being forced by armed gangsters to smuggle drugs, of a culture of bribery of officials, and the fact that there have been no increased security measures at Johannesburg airport, even though two aircrews were arrested over the past four weeks and the airline claimed that it had tightened up security</span>. <em><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color:#cc0000;">see</span> </span></em></span><a class="articleheadline" href="http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=vn20090221063738311C786778"><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">No searches or dogs, claims SAA stewardess</span></em></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Fifteen crew members - six women and nine men - were arrested at London's Heathrow Airport on Monday after 2kg of cocaine was allegedly found in their luggage. They were released on bail after questioning and are expected to return to the UK for further action on April 7 and 8. This follows the arrest of 15 crew in January on their arrival at Heathrow after the discovery of three crew bags packed with 50kg of dagga and 4kg of cocaine.<br /><br />All were released on bail and warned to appear in court in London in March after their DNA and fingerprints were taken. Two days later, airport security officer Pulane Hlahane, 43, and SAA employee Mmatshuma Matlhara, 35, were arrested.<br /><br />Hlahane is accused of providing Matlhara with extra security clearance tags so that she could travel with extra luggage, allegedly containing drugs. SAA has said the airline had not yet decided whether it would pay for its crew members to return to the UK to appear in court there.<br /><br />"A decision will be made in due course on whether SAA will assist in returning crew to Heathrow," said spokeswoman Robyn Chalmers. This week the airline claimed that they had tightened up security after the first arrest: "security systems were changed, bags were searched and dogs used on the airside."<br /><br />However, a stewardess who was interviewed said she "hadn't noticed any such measures</span>.<em><span style="font-size:85%;"> <span style="color:#cc0000;">see</span> </span></em></span><a class="articleheadline" href="http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=vn20090221063738311C786778"><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">No searches or dogs, claims SAA stewardess</span></em></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><br />"Yes, we had to write our names on our clearance tags. But I was never searched and there were no dogs," she said. Another crew member, speaking to Eyewitness News on Radio 702 talk-radio station in Johannesburg, said it was relatively easy to smuggle illegal goods on an international SAA flight.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><br />"There's no machine that can detect the drugs. If there are no sniffer dogs, it is easy."<br />The SAA staff member also confirmed that the only new measure put in place was the labelling of the crew members' bags.<br /><br />An Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA) employee, who also didn't want to be named, told the Saturday Star newspaper this week that SAA crew members involved in the drug incidents had been threatened by the people they were supplying that they would be exposed if they didn't co-operate.<br /><br />"Most of them wanted out (of the drug-running) but they had been threatened. They must do it - or be exposed.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><br />"It isn't just one air hostess - there are several involved. SAA has become a halfway point for the drugs."<br /><br />He reiterated what two SAA crew members said earlier: "Although there was an incident three weeks ago, crew are still not being searched. And there is a lot of bribery."<br /><br />Earlier this week, an SAA staff member contacted the Democratic Alliance oposition party on condition of anonymity and outlined a "total collapse of security procedures" in the SAA crew centre at Johannesburg International Airport.<br /><br />Terrified crew members say that lax security at the crew centre led to its use as a transit point for between 600 and 700 SAA international and domestic flight staff each day.<br /><br />"These lax security processes allow unhindered entry through the checkpoints into the crew centre and onto SAA flights," the staff member said.<br /><br />As a result of the revelations, the DA called on the minister of safety and security to report to the parliamentary committee on safety and security on the state of South Africa's airport security within four weeks. <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?art_id=vn20090221063738311C786778"><em><span style="font-size:100%;">see</span></em></a></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#3333ff;">South African Airways has failed miserably in their effort to combat crime and corruption within their own ranks.</span></strong><strong> </strong></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color:#cc0000;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy2EZbrzVwfJ09xkoGr5z3Pal36XgOXlQMCfqN6o5LbMTkT-BGx4bWGeNCxLpFpesTIFzZkXtzRja_V0kdW-m3JvGHoY5NgUqAl6jxi-hPwMdwMVQoKFQVN2yA9qyCvyq9Yqi3khVT-V4/s1600-h/saagain.jpg"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305817301387476466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy2EZbrzVwfJ09xkoGr5z3Pal36XgOXlQMCfqN6o5LbMTkT-BGx4bWGeNCxLpFpesTIFzZkXtzRja_V0kdW-m3JvGHoY5NgUqAl6jxi-hPwMdwMVQoKFQVN2yA9qyCvyq9Yqi3khVT-V4/s400/saagain.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 161px" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">Nearly nine years ago in May 2000 the Sunday Times reported that the South African Airways (SAA) was investigating allegations that members of its staff were involved in prostitution, bribery, money laundering and smuggling. The newspaper reported that more than 90 employees had been suspended pending an inquiry, after the company used phone taps and security cameras to monitor the activities of its staff.</span></strong></span><br /><br /></span></strong></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#000000;">Investigations back then revealed that cabin attendants were involved in drug trafficking and other illegal activities.</span> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">16 February 2009</span></strong> <span style="color:#000000;"><strong><span style="color:#3333ff;">Flight SAA 234</span></strong> smuggling drugs AGAIN</span>!!!<br />THIS IS A PATHETIC SHAMEFUL DISGRACE! Is it that difficult to search the plane on South African soil BEFORE it leaves for the UK? Plane crew held over cocaine haul. Fifteen crew members on a South African Airways (SAA) flight have been arrested after cocaine with a street value of £250,000 was seized at Heathrow. They uncovered five kilos (11lbs) of the Class A drug in a piece of baggage on the flight from Johannesburg. <em><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color:#cc0000;">Source:</span> <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7893759.stm">http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7893759.stm</a> </span></em></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">21 January 2009</span></strong> at Heathrow airport involving the seizure of cannabis (dagga) and cocaine with a street value of £310,000, implicating crew members on <strong><span style="color:#3333ff;">flight SAA 234</span></strong> from Johannesburg, plus a series of similar incidents since the year 2000, is more than sufficient confirmation that SAA has failed miserably in their effort to combat crime and corruption within their own ranks. <em><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color:#cc0000;">Source:</span></span></em><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/732246.stm"><em><span style="font-size:85%;">http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/732246.stm</span></em></a></span><em><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;"></span></em><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;">For the record, I’ve included a few snippets of info concerning similar cases:Goodness knows how many “unreported” cases there are!</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">25 March 2006 – Inside Job</span></strong> </span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;">A gang of 25 robbers made off with R67,2-million in US dollar bills at Johannesburg International Airport. Three airport officials employed by Airports Company South Africa (ACSA), were arrested for their involvement in the multi-million dollar heist. <em><span style="font-size:85%;color:#cc0000;">Source</span></em> <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20060411121845697C307216"><em><span style="font-size:85%;">http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20060411121845697C307216</span></em></a></span></p><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;"></span><p><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;color:#cc0000;"><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">April 2006 - the SA media reported two large drug busts at Jhb International</span></strong>. </span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;">Cocaine with an estimated value of R64-million was confiscated. South African Revenue Service (SARS) custom officials found narcotics concealed in the wooden handles of women's handbags as part of cargo freight on a SAA flight from Sao Paulo airport in Brazil to Johannesburg. </span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;"><em><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color:#cc0000;">Source:</span><a href="http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=qw1145449084704B265">http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=qw1145449084704B265</a></span></em></span><em><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;"></span></em><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#cc0000;"><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">29 April 2006</span></strong>, </span><span style="color:#000000;">the media reported that South African Airways was battling to control a growing drug-smuggling epidemic among its own staff</span> </span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;">- with three stewards arrested on charges of cocaine and dagga smuggling in the past seven months. In one of these incidents a stewardess, Lindiwe Harriet Luthuli, 40, pleaded guilty to smuggling 5kg of cocaine and 10kg of herbal cannabis - valued at about £325 000 (more than R3,5-million) - into the United Kingdom. Luthuli arrived in the early hours of April 10, after she had arrived on <strong><span style="color:#3333ff;">flight SAA 234</span></strong> from Johannesburg, --- the same flight number involved in the two most recent drug busts!</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#cc0000;"><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">Investigative news reports back in 2006 also revealed</span></strong> <span style="color:#000000;">that,</span> </span><span style="color:#000000;">in addition to Luthuli, at least seven other SAA employees, including a pilot, had been arrested in countries such as Brazil, Australia and the United Kingdom since 2000.</span> <em><span style="font-size:85%;color:#cc0000;">Source:</span></em><a href="http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20060429093007401C252314"><em><span style="font-size:85%;">http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20060429093007401C252314</span></em></a></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;">Concerning the latest two incidents at Heathrow Airport in the last 3 weeks, a spokeswoman for the SAA stated that the company was taking the discovery of the drugs "extremely seriously" and had provided the crew with legal representation. blah, blah blah! Typical democratic crap! First take care of the interests and rights of the suspected criminals! I think it’s time that management at SAA get off their fat butts and do something constructive, like sending crew members to a drug rehab for a month to see what illegal drugs actually do to the minds of our kids.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><em><span style="color:#cc0000;"><strong>See also</strong> </span>--- </em><a href="http://tia-mysoa.blogspot.com/2009/01/eyewitness-account-of-bribery-and.html"><em>An eyewitness account of bribery and corruption at the O.R. Tambo International Airport, JHB.</em></a></span><br /></p><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;"></span><p></p>

South African Airways a hub for drug-smuggling gangs

South African Airways pilots and air stewardesses are wary of their colleagues. They don't know who to trust and are well aware they cou...

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Hijackers strip motorist naked

<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI_1NysC4FzG87LYWYo9gUk_XYv9y3gJ6X3c_onMfjWFhnxWsWd2EUlLvmDR8I_7RxbKvzIZcIGjNbBbcuTzKarTD-MZl4w5FXfwFfjhlyOgHJWsuQGTU4VsdMVqs2J-23I1ypHEX1GA0/s1600-h/crimecarhijacking.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300789168488843154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI_1NysC4FzG87LYWYo9gUk_XYv9y3gJ6X3c_onMfjWFhnxWsWd2EUlLvmDR8I_7RxbKvzIZcIGjNbBbcuTzKarTD-MZl4w5FXfwFfjhlyOgHJWsuQGTU4VsdMVqs2J-23I1ypHEX1GA0/s400/crimecarhijacking.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 307px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 238px" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">Hijackers stripped a motorist naked and left him at the side of a road in Rietgat on Monday, said police.<br /><br />Inspector Sello Mangena said the motorist was attacked by three hijackers while stationary at a stop sign on the Winterveldt road at 03:00. </span></strong><br /><br />Threatening him with firearms, the hijackers climbed into his car and ordered him to drive to Maubane, in Hammanskraal.<br /><br />There, they forced him out of the vehicle and undressed him before driving off in his Volkswagen Fox, registration CDX545GP. His wallet, containing bank cards and R160 in cash, was in his trousers.<br /><br />Mangena said the man stopped a passing motorist who took him to a police station where he was given clothes to wear. </span><p>

Hijackers strip motorist naked

Hijackers stripped a motorist naked and left him at the side of a road in Rietgat on Monday, said police. Inspector Sello Mangena said the m...

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Drug Rehab in Cape Town hit by Armed Robbers

<P><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300543076571632594" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_z6C49DpkCFpNOUsck6oIErlJiv3qQIecuIzpL61YGjfjbMbSSeFysSnthWATIxw7hBwUAfTBQRJeuOU_2sHIIzucRX0pOagcWor0o2VoAQY9gVOsKXODAQ4kZ-eY1YNKYhEY-6r9qxE/s400/crime+will+happen2u.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 291px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 318px" /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">A drug rehabilitation facility in Sweet Valley was hit by three armed robbers who held 14 people, including patients, hostage while they raided two safes and made off with jewellery and cellphones.<br /></span></strong><br />Sweet Valley is near Constantia where police believe a syndicate is targeting homes, farms, security complexes and big properties along private roads.<br /><br />Five robberies have taken place in Groot Constantia, Constantia, Diep River and Kirstenhof over the past three to four weeks.<br /><br />In the latest incident, three men gained access to the property at 11.30 am on Thursday by climbing over a wooden fence that backs onto a greenbelt that runs along the M3, said Kirstenhof police spokesperson Inspector Rodney Franks.<br /><br />At the time there were 14 people in the house and out in the garden. They were all forced into the yard and ordered to lie face down on the ground by an armed robber who told them to remove their belongings which included jewellery, cellphones and cameras.<br /><br />"Then the two other perpetrators, one with a knife and another with a screwdriver, forced a staff member to show them where the safe was."<br /><br />A Constantia Hill neighbourhood watch report said after they removed the cash from the safe, they insisted on finding another one.<br /><br />They cleared out the second safe as well.<br /><br />They then locked all 14 in a bedroom before they left the property by jumping over the same wooden fence into the greenbelt where they made off on foot.<br /><br />Their faces were visible and fingerprints have been lifted from the scene.<br /><br />Two residents suffered minor injuries after one was pistol whipped and another hit in the face with a hammer. No shots were fired.<br /><br />Frank said between R12 000 to R14 000 was stolen.<br /><br />No arrests have been made. </span><p>

Drug Rehab in Cape Town hit by Armed Robbers

A drug rehabilitation facility in Sweet Valley was hit by three armed robbers who held 14 people, including patients, hostage while they rai...

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Gang of crooks posing as homebuyers wanted for numerous thefts across South Africa

<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidh3Z59OQCdIFbdYaSZUTUZV4pEn_sIdefXrz4r_9yJvDkEbs-4-6HUks3WG4el3JReS7YrZl0mHo0157qIC7U5OEJoWl4EBGYHuDJAgopfPVimsxc8viZqz_PRCnS4XCzYa8rw99fKwk/s1600-h/for_sale_home.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297573032848871314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidh3Z59OQCdIFbdYaSZUTUZV4pEn_sIdefXrz4r_9yJvDkEbs-4-6HUks3WG4el3JReS7YrZl0mHo0157qIC7U5OEJoWl4EBGYHuDJAgopfPVimsxc8viZqz_PRCnS4XCzYa8rw99fKwk/s400/for_sale_home.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 293px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 229px" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">A gang of suspected thieves posing as homebuyers, who are being linked to what is believed to be hundreds of cases across the country, have been arrested in Pretoria.</span></strong><br /><br />The members of the gang, including the alleged ringleader who is a 35-year-old woman, were nabbed in Nellmapius during the early hours of yesterday morning after police were tipped off by an informer on their whereabouts.<br /><br />Villieria officers arrested the ringleader as well as the suspected getaway driver, a 30-year-old man.<br /><br />During the raid police seized jewellery, laptop computers and other household electrical goods.<br /><br />The gangsters, according to police sources, are wanted for numerous thefts across the country in cases where they posed as homebuyers.<br /><br />Information given to the Pretoria News shows that the syndicate, which specifically targeted houses that were for sale, is wanted for theft throughout Pretoria, Johannesburg, Kimberly, Nelspruit and Tzaneen.<br /><br />Among the Pretoria suburbs targeted by the gang were Villieria, where police are investigating 12 cases, Silverton, Wierdabrug and Sinoville. A case in Bronkhorstspruit is also being probed.<br /><br />The modus operandi of the gang is similar to the one which claimed the life of Pretoria preschool principal, Rhinda Abraham, who was gunned down in her home a year ago.<br /><br />Abraham's son Eric said he believed that his mother's killers had prior knowledge of their house, which was for sale at the time of the murder.<br /><br />"Days before the shooting several 'potential buyers' came to our house while our family was out and were let in by our domestic worker, who we believe was conned into thinking that they were interested in buying the house. On the night of the shooting the killers knew exactly which neighbour's wall to climb over, exactly which doors to come through and where everything in the house was and what to ask for," he said.<br /><br />Abraham's alleged killer, Mozambican national, Denis Gentil Nhone (37), who was arrested two days later, is to go on trial in the Pretoria High Court in August for her murder as well as several other cases.<br /><br />One of the victims of the gang caught yesterday, Frikkie van Niekerk, has described how the smooth-talking gang conned his domestic worker into allowing them into his Queenswood home.<br /><br />"The four well-dressed women told my domestic worker that they were interested in buying my house.<br /><br />"When my domestic worker told them to return when I was home they told her a long story about how they had travelled from far and that one of them was pregnant and that they could not return.<br /><br />"Believing them, my domestic worker let them into the house and, while showing one of them the garden, the others 'viewed' our house," said Van Niekerk.<br /><br />It was while Van Niekerk's domestic worker was being distracted that the women's accomplices helped themselves to a camera, laptop computer and other valuables. When Van Niekerk arrived home he was greeted in Afrikaans by the "well-spoken" women who told him what a "lovely" house he had.<br /><br />"I never suspected that they had just robbed me. I thought they were genuinely interested in buying my house," said Van Niekerk.<br /><br />Only after a neighbour stopped and asked him if he had been robbed, did Van Niekerk think something was amiss.<br /><br />"When my neighbour, who is also selling his house, said he had discovered that things were stolen from his home after the same women had come to view his house, I immediately became suspicious. When I walked through the bedrooms I saw that the cupboards had been opened and things were missing," he said.<br /><br />Van Niekerk said: "They looked like good upstanding citizens, not a gang of crooks."<br /><br />Police spokesperson Inspector Klaas van der Kooi confirmed the gang allegedly targeted houses that were for sale.<br /><br />One of the women would keep the homeowner distracted while her accomplices stole valuables such as cellphones, laptop computers, cameras and jewellery.<br /><br />"So far we have linked the two suspects to 12 cases in Villieria. We are in the process of linking them to other cases throughout Pretoria, including Silverton, Sinoville and Wierdabrug, as well as Johannesburg, Kimberly, Tzaneen, Nelspruit and Bronkhorstspruit.<br /><br /><em><span style="font-size:78%;">Related article: </span></em></span><a class="feedlink" href="http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20080601094725110C894389"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:78%;"><em>Estate agents take stand against crime</em></span></a> <p></p>

Gang of crooks posing as homebuyers wanted for numerous thefts across South Africa

A gang of suspected thieves posing as homebuyers, who are being linked to what is believed to be hundreds of cases across the country, have ...

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Armed gangs target schools in upmarket northern Joburg suburbs

<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8xMvpFhvmjJJ_QvWqidkviFN-u8qYEAgzYaQ2wcYoUeQFS_mp2clLcs7ZDbzkvMKXKtlXeULp9RdkDZmI41xmkfBt1dyOXgKfM_z4gfgs4bz7ANZfqDSGR88VcPTznxwIWzsxp5R8QHU/s1600-h/st+stithians.bmp"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297557135790029938" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8xMvpFhvmjJJ_QvWqidkviFN-u8qYEAgzYaQ2wcYoUeQFS_mp2clLcs7ZDbzkvMKXKtlXeULp9RdkDZmI41xmkfBt1dyOXgKfM_z4gfgs4bz7ANZfqDSGR88VcPTznxwIWzsxp5R8QHU/s400/st+stithians.bmp" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">Concerned Johannesburg northern suburbs residents have deployed private security companies to guard schools during drop-off and collection times, as armed robbers target parents collecting children.<br /><br />Since the beginning of the school year two weeks ago, robbers have struck at least five times at schools in northern Joburg and Randburg.<br /></span></strong><br />The gangs have reportedly been using a blue Jeep Grand Cherokee and a white BMW X5 with at least two sets of false registration plates.<br /><br />This week, St Stithians College sent a security alert to parents warning them about the armed gang, who follow moms and rob them on arrival at home.<br /><br />The Saturday Star can reveal that residents of Craighall Park have employed the services of CSS Tactical to monitor schools in the area.<br /><br />Craighall Park Residents' Association spokesperson Wendy McAllister said that even before the incidents, they had asked the security companies to take "special care" of the schools and make sure there was a "visible presence".<br /><br />She said that last year there had been several incidents where residents were followed home from shopping malls, and that had put them on the alert.<br /><br />"In line with out Public Space Security Plan, the security company looks for suspicious activity at schools and churches."<br /><br />Last year, the Saturday Star revealed the existence of the so-called Rolex Gang, which preyed on wealthy Joburg residents. The gang comprised three men and two women, who did most of their hits from a navy-blue Jeep Grand Cherokee.<br /><br />At the time, it was believed that the gang identified their targets in northern suburbs malls, then followed them home and pounced on them in their driveways.<br /><br />Attacks occurred in upmarket Hyde Park, Houghton, Sandton, Hurlingham and Glenhazel.<br /><br />Ricky Croock, business development director at CSS Tactical security services, who is familiar with the workings of the Rolex Gang, has confirmed the incidents and believes it is the same gang.<br /><br />"They have the same tactics. They follow you home. You drive into your driveway and they actually pass you and stop at the driveway next door. You think nothing of it and think your neighbours are getting visitors.<br /><br />"But when you pull in, they jump out and hit the sensor of the gate so that the gate opens again. The entire attack happens in your yard and not in full view of the street."<br /><br />The tactical unit has been collecting information at various security and policing meetings to create awareness. "We have noticed that these guys are trying to find soft targets. This trend is a new one that people have not identified yet.<br /><br />"In the mornings, mothers are so busy with the kids, schools books, bags and lunches that they are not really noticing what is going on around them, so it's easy for these groups to follow them."<br /><br />Croock said schools had also become a target because it was easy for these men to sit and wait at the gates and watch without standing out.<br /><br />They identify the mothers and, for example, if they are wearing slippers, they know that they have to go home to shower before they go to work.<br /><br />Croock said they had deployed military-trained people who were able to identify suspicious-looking people.</span><p>

Armed gangs target schools in upmarket northern Joburg suburbs

Concerned Johannesburg northern suburbs residents have deployed private security companies to guard schools during drop-off and collection t...

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Tourists robbed at gunpoint in Kosi Bay

<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfovEB83CsYwfWU2h2NkM0ElsmD0mPwbosrjnpfKK5m3PUo6r3WHY3CJn_YktMKz6GE6ldMTrdTWT7Y8yyEDsgkOLPCL7bjtrOqriPuzai3jKlCkZaLSIXJUMd0TIo9-Ma_-ybaY4qAXg/s1600-h/kznwildlife-logo.gif"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293429190045018594" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfovEB83CsYwfWU2h2NkM0ElsmD0mPwbosrjnpfKK5m3PUo6r3WHY3CJn_YktMKz6GE6ldMTrdTWT7Y8yyEDsgkOLPCL7bjtrOqriPuzai3jKlCkZaLSIXJUMd0TIo9-Ma_-ybaY4qAXg/s400/kznwildlife-logo.gif" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 234px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 238px" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">Police have launched a massive search for men who robbed tourists of valuables and cars in Kosi Bay in northern KwaZulu-Natal on Monday morning.<br /><br />Several men held up three armed security guards at gunpoint and led them to a chalet at Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife's (EKZNW) Kosi Bay camp early on Monday morning.<br /></span></strong><br />According to a statement issued by EKZNW on Monday afternoon, tourists were woken at gunpoint and forced to hand over cellphones, cash and the keys to their two Isuzu double cab vehicles.<br /><br />The tourists and guards were then locked into various rooms while the robbers fled in the two vehicles.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><br /><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293429359704728770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8hTUhZP4nBg6FiNIUZLZr0m4eF3r8uI3A6jExPOtWTFVwOIVTLUOKXghVqfhrBanaf202dFEM1TxFnfi3vGGq7Vku7jR6WkMuALWBbZxc3ywzfTxbQqeSYf9u30BlqUeO09d8DYcEnS8/s400/kznwildlife.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 86px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Kosi Bay, was until last year, used by car syndicates to smuggle stolen cars into Mozambique. The situation was however contained when Mozambique allowed South African police into the country to seal off smuggling routes.<br /><br />Manguzi police believed that the two vehicles were still in South Africa as the border fence separating South Africa and Mozambique had not been cut.<br /><br />iSimangaliso Authority CEO Andrew Zaloumis said: "It is deeply disturbing that a problem that has lain dormant for several years is now resurfacing."<br /><br />EKZNW CEO Bandile Mkhize said in a statement his organisation viewed the incident in a serious light, and that it affected tourism in the entire region.</span></p>

Tourists robbed at gunpoint in Kosi Bay

Police have launched a massive search for men who robbed tourists of valuables and cars in Kosi Bay in northern KwaZulu-Natal on Monday morn...

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Robbers target farms, security complexes and big properties in Cape Town suburbs

<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZNbOBL1IMO-DeCTVEWJ44YNVg6Rf4ajBYnZMIPP-mwrlDJBqyF94DlLCfWR05PhXf7xpSakEiaPeT-aeo9WuRC5NpYYpUKCNlZn2PZBprAbrcuYlJWdG_C6WHp2u6gNK3yyT4R9Dijeo/s1600-h/gangsters-sa.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293424308355942050" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZNbOBL1IMO-DeCTVEWJ44YNVg6Rf4ajBYnZMIPP-mwrlDJBqyF94DlLCfWR05PhXf7xpSakEiaPeT-aeo9WuRC5NpYYpUKCNlZn2PZBprAbrcuYlJWdG_C6WHp2u6gNK3yyT4R9Dijeo/s400/gangsters-sa.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 266px" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">Police believe that a syndicate is targeting homes in Constantia and its surrounds after a spate of robberies in the area in recent weeks.<br /><br />Five robberies have taken place in Groot Constantia, Constantia, Diep River and Kirstenhof over the past three to four weeks. </span></strong><br /><br />Diep River police spokesperson Keith Chandler said the robbers were targeting farms, security complexes and big properties along private roads.<br /><br />It was often difficult to patrol these areas, he said, because the properties were huge and some areas, such as parts of Constantia, did not always have sufficient street lighting to allow for adequate visibility.<br /><br />In the latest robbery, a 25-year-old woman's cottage on Groot Constantia Estate, was broken into in the early hours of Friday morning.<br /><br />The woman, a teacher at a Rondebosch primary school, was sleeping when three men broke into her house.<br /><br />Chandler said one stood over her with a screwdriver, while the other two raided her cottage for valuable items.<br /><br />They took all that they could carry - a laptop computer, an iPod and jewellery - before escaping on foot.<br /><br />Chandler said four similar incidents had taken place in Constantia and its surrounds - also in the dead of night and on isolated properties by a group of men who took valuable items.<br /><br />He believed the suspects might be watching the movements of residents during the day to see which houses would make good targets.<br /><br />Chandler warned residents to be vigilant. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><a class="feedlink" href="http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20081206102447678C877023"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><em>Gangs target luxurious Constantia</em></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><em><br /></em></span><a class="feedlink" href="http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20080921084002632C609257"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><em>Rich pickings for robbers at Constantia house</em></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;"></span><p>

Robbers target farms, security complexes and big properties in Cape Town suburbs

Police believe that a syndicate is targeting homes in Constantia and its surrounds after a spate of robberies in the area in recent weeks. F...

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OR Tambo International Airport gangs 'target' arrivals

<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC0Epp0-E5exCurrGPXPzta7bY1E9K_gkgqjPIaukhi52ZWff1_H4P08qfyaioZdNhJ7QDSIOMoM3wd58gs_DQclKcUjcSanMsRub9Fij6xsa2IdHnKOgNddEVQ1yWYKai65soxV5axng/s1600-h/or+thambo.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293106045537761362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC0Epp0-E5exCurrGPXPzta7bY1E9K_gkgqjPIaukhi52ZWff1_H4P08qfyaioZdNhJ7QDSIOMoM3wd58gs_DQclKcUjcSanMsRub9Fij6xsa2IdHnKOgNddEVQ1yWYKai65soxV5axng/s400/or+thambo.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">Johannesburg - According to the American Embassy, 14 Americans in the past 12 months have been robbed at gunpoint after landing at the OR Tambo international airport in Kempton Park.</span></strong><br /><br />The embassy said that gangs of robbers targeted people arriving at airport and robbed them either at their destinations or on the way to their destinations.<br /><br />The embassy's website warned that organised criminal gangs were targeting visitors and residents at shopping malls and at the OR Tambo airport.<br /><br />"When a victim is identified he or she is followed to his or her destination and robbed, usually at gunpoint, though the use of violence is generally limited to those who offer resistance."<br /><br /><span style="color:#cc0000;">Airport staff involved</span><br /><br />Beeld reported that another entry on the website read: "It seems that certain employees at the airport are involved in crime and it is believed that these employees inform criminals waiting outside the airport about which tourists declared valuable items or cash."<br /><br />Beeld reported media liaison officer for the embassy, Sharon Hudson-Dean, as saying that no travel warnings concerning South Africa have been issued.<br /><br />This statement stands in contrast to the police task team finding that no syndicates were operating at the airport that specifically targeted tourists.<br /><br />Superintendent Vish Naidoo said the department of foreign affairs had been contacted to pressure the Americans to remove the claims from their websites.<br /><br />"They are free to warn their citizens but we want proof of these allegations. ... Our investigations have shown that these are nothing more than allegations," Naidoo told Beeld.<br /><br />It was reported on Tuesday that three Vietnamese men have become the latest victims of robbers who follow tourists from the OR Tambo International Airport and attack them.<br /><br />Three men were accosted when they got to a house in Brooklyn, Pretoria, from the airport at 19:50 on Monday, said Captain Colette Weilbach.<br /><br />A red 4x4 pulled up behind them and four men held them at gunpoint taking their luggage and cellphones before fleeing, she said, adding that the serious and violent crimes unit was investigating the incident.<br /><br />Gauteng national police spokesperson Superintendent Vish Naidoo announced last Monday that, despite a spate of similar robberies, there was no evidence a syndicate was targeting air travellers.<br /><br />Just two days later, a Nigerian was robbed of his luggage on arrival at Johannesburg's exclusive Westcliff Hotel from the airport, in Kempton Park.<br /><br />Another two tourists, who were in the reception area checking out at the time, were also robbed of their bags.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><em><span style="color:#cc0000;"><strong>See</strong> </span></em></span><a href="http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1008.html#crime"><span style="font-family:arial;"><em>Crime</em></span></a><br /><br /></p>

OR Tambo International Airport gangs 'target' arrivals

Johannesburg - According to the American Embassy, 14 Americans in the past 12 months have been robbed at gunpoint after landing at the OR Ta...

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Spoils of London heist turn up in SA

<p><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292615989323403170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBwuIHrYyOsuj7iCjFyl7pd4p8ycpH_9aakVyKYp2e6sxWNLt_FBpF5KD2sg-_YejwlTl9uHkVMRRVPmuTciIHsLyANSBkG5_RgGZIR-hg5hsMFiabecnMqllj4BMTWoqdgfie3U0Kbyc/s400/cash-in-transit-heist.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 268px" /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">Durban cops seize huge haul of pounds stashed in luxury vehicle<br /><br />As South Africa claims victory in the war on cash-in-transit (CIT) criminals, the country is being drawn into spiralling heists across the world.<br /><br />This week, hundreds of thousands of British pounds stolen during a London heist made their way to Durban, stashed under the seat of a luxury Mitsubishi Shogun 4x4 vehicle shipped from the UK.<br /></span></strong><br />The interception of the shipment, destined finally for Zimbabwe, came after the arrest in London of three men — a Zimbabwean and two Ghanaians.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMs_M2LaAg2bKv545boYPQGBPmpuWUZLs-DHvye8X63NiJFW5isuqZ7hRn-2KpTGIo3THiY6jywqeJQcl8FpZ9urAiLP8o45uA3RYnI7245oDq8NnFKjKrh_LctO7TcZhxb_idRyo5c34/s1600-h/heist+vehicle.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292616672079852306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMs_M2LaAg2bKv545boYPQGBPmpuWUZLs-DHvye8X63NiJFW5isuqZ7hRn-2KpTGIo3THiY6jywqeJQcl8FpZ9urAiLP8o45uA3RYnI7245oDq8NnFKjKrh_LctO7TcZhxb_idRyo5c34/s400/heist+vehicle.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 133px" /></a>The attack in London last month involving the trio was one of a staggering 64 in the British capital that month alone. There were 53 in November.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#000099;"><em><span style="font-size:85%;">CASH CAR: Superintendent Johan Meeding inspects the vehicle that was shipped from the UK</span></em> </span><br /><br />A comparison of cash-in-transit heists in the two countries reveals that:<br /><br /></p></span><ul><li><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">There has been a 24% increase in the UK in the past six months;<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">There has been a 24% decrease in SA in the past three months;<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">There were 308 attacks in London alone last year and some 900 throughout the UK; and<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">There were only 256 attacks last year throughout SA.<br /><br /></span></li></ul><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">On Monday, members of the Pietermaritzburg Organised Crime Unit tracked down the car after a request by British police made through Interpol.<br /><br />Superintendent Johan Meeding said that apart from an undisclosed amount of cash, police had also found a hand gun with a silencer as well as clothing in the car.<br /><br />British investigators, who worked with local police this week, have returned to London.<br /><br />The suspects — Zimbabwean Taqa Hungwe and Ghanaians Theo-Philius Boateng and Ebeenzer Gyau — have been charged with the December 16 robbery of £40000 from G4S Security, conspiracy to rob on December 16 and conspiracy to rob between July 22 2007 and December 16 last year.<br /><br />The men are believed to be legal immigrants.<br /><br />London police this week remained tight-lipped about the Durban bust for fear of jeopardising its investigation. They declined to comment on the involvement of foreigners in soaring cash-in-transit attacks in the capital.<br /><br />Spokesman Hannah Collyer said they were seeing younger and more “chaotic” offenders who drove around and on seeing a van would follow it while looking for an opportune moment to strike.<br /><br />She said this meant that they hadn’t necessarily sat down and planned every inch of the crime before going out to commit the offence. The force had historically dealt with “older, highly organised career criminals”, she said.<br /><br />The British Security Industry Association said this week that it had seen a 24% increase in “often extremely violent” cash-in-transit attacks since July last year compared with the same period in 2007.<br /><br />“This is a worrying trend as both cash-in-transit couriers and members of the public are being put at risk,” said its chief executive, David Dickson.<br /><br />Anton Wiid of SA’s Business Against Crime, which compiles quarterly statistics, has attributed the drop in heists to greater co-operation between the banks and security agencies, including the National Intelligence Agency and the police’s crime intelligence unit.<br /><br />There were 419 heists in 2007, down from 545 in 2006.<br /></span></p>

Spoils of London heist turn up in SA

Durban cops seize huge haul of pounds stashed in luxury vehicle As South Africa claims victory in the war on cash-in-transit (CIT) criminals...

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Ivory sale a 'green light' for poachers

<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhId-Bs1ZzC49UvVwa8AveatCOnmwLEFXpP73_u-JdRHeHNl057wAup4J2whd1bsKCH75zwp4lXXe99TP7tInQCi6ChlFUOrEMOV_4C8V0GL_SgwhSY1DDwA1oimvPUpfpkInX1HhQsU0/s1600-h/ivory.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5225618651956196050" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhId-Bs1ZzC49UvVwa8AveatCOnmwLEFXpP73_u-JdRHeHNl057wAup4J2whd1bsKCH75zwp4lXXe99TP7tInQCi6ChlFUOrEMOV_4C8V0GL_SgwhSY1DDwA1oimvPUpfpkInX1HhQsU0/s400/ivory.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">A Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) standing committee decision allowing China to import more than a hundred tons of elephant ivory gives a green light to poaching syndicates, Animal Rights Africa (ARA) warned on Wednesday.<br /><br />At a meeting in Geneva this week, the Cites committee approved China as a fit buyer for 108 tons of ivory put up for sale by South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe.<br /><br />ARA says the controversial decision - according to experts, China is the world's largest illegal ivory market - includes the sale of 51 tons of elephant ivory from South Africa.<br /><br />In real terms, the 51 tons represented the death of an estimated 7 699 South African elephants, the Johannesburg-based organisation said in a statement.<br /><br />"This sale has literally given the green light to the international poaching syndicates and organised crime, and will present a nightmare to poorly-resourced wildlife enforcement agencies in Africa.<br /><br />"The international wildlife trade is worth billions of US dollars annually and has been responsible for the decline of wild populations of a number of species of animals.<br /><br />"Annually, more than 20 000 elephants are killed for the illegal ivory trade, and Chinese nationals have already been implicated in illegal ivory seizures by law enforcement agencies in 20 African countries."<br /><br />ARA said it was "shameful" the South African government was one of the main proponents for the continuation of the ivory trade.<br /><br />"China's lack of human rights, its support of repressive regimes and extreme oppression and exploitation of animals are well known, and should be cause enough for other countries not to trade with it," ARA said. - Sapa </span><p></p>

Ivory sale a 'green light' for poachers

A Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) standing committee decision allowing China to import more than a hundred t...

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