Reports of theft and more theft, in the Laudium area, have unfortunately just become a mere part of crime stats, with many cases registered at the Laudium police station then closed, without proper police investigation.
Laudium residents certainly have a reason to complain concerning the poor state the once thriving suburb is now in. Many residents who have been living in the area for years, have moved out of the area into security estates, due to the growing crime in the area and the constant harassment of nyaopes at almost every corner of Laudium. Both politicians and officials, have certainly lost the plot, and are unable to govern effectively, in order to keep the streets free from criminals and for residents to once more feel safe in their homes. Despite criminals targeting various homes in Ext 3, this past week, and even stealing electric cables from various points, police are yet to make arrests. Questions have also been raised as to how effective the various security companies operating in the Laudium area are. Just how are these criminals coming into the area undetected and getting away after committing the crimes, remains a mystery. Once more residents in the Ext 3 area, have complained about the open spaces behind or near their homes, leading to the hills, which criminals are using as a conduit to make a quick getaway.
This follows another cable theft on Himalaya Street, near the Meladi-E-Mustafa Mosque, this past Tuesday (Sep 13) when two thieves, believed to be nyaopes were spotted digging up in an open field with the intention to steal the electric cables that lay below. A resident who spotted the pair at around midday immediately posted on the neighbourhood WhatsApp group, and asked for assistance, but before police, the community or the security patrollers could catch the pair, they made a quick getaway, through the open veld, leading to the hills. When the Laudium Sun team arrived at the scene, they noticed a half dug up trench, open live cables and pieces of cable that were already cut. A mini electrical box was found to be vandalized. Seemingly the thieves had managed to steal some of the pieces cut, before making their getaway.
Shakeel Bhatakwer from the Ward Councillor’s office, said, “We were informed of two suspicious males towards the end of Himalaya Street, in Ext 3. This area is notorious for cable theft. We immediately rushed to the scene. As we got there, a security patroller and a resident asked us to give chase to the two who had run up towards the mountain side. We gave chase but they managed to get away. They had in their possession according to the resident, a cutting saw and some tools. It is clear that they came to steal the cables. We have had a spike the last few days in cable thefts. This is creating power outages and causing an inconvenience to our residents and to the region. We have sent out a community message appealing to residents to be more vigilant and also we ask for more visibility from security personnel and SAPS during loadshedding.”
Qari Haqnawaz from the Meladi-E-Mustafa Mosque, told the Laudium Sun, “This is not the first incident of cable theft in our area. The last time these thieves stole a lot of cables. We are asking residents to stand united and sign a petition to close off all open spaces leading to the hills. We are also pleading with the Laudium SAPS to increase patrols in our area”.
Ayesha Aboobaker of Himalaya Street told the Laudium Sun, “Thieves also attempted to steal cables early Saturday morning around 1:30 am, during load shedding time. They cut the wires already, but luckily someone saw them and called PAJ Patrollers. But, they ran off into the bush when they saw the patrol vehicle approaching. Crime is getting terrible in our area and something needs to be done about this. We are living in fear.”
