Despite many residents and businesses calling on the local police to take stern action against the increasing number of nyaopes in the area, especially those who freely roam the streets of Laudium looking for the next opportunity to steal whatever item has value, even just a little value, so that they could earn a few rand, in order to maintain their drug habits, police remain complacent in tackling the problem.
Residents are fed up of police not being able to arrest these nyaopes, who even steal in broad daylight, items such as pot plants, water taps outside light fittings and even fencing. In one of the latest incidents of such a crime, the Laudium Sun received a complaint from a resident of Agra Street West, in Laudium, who spotted a nyaope stealing a piece of palisade fencing, which was erected by the council along the water canal on Agra Street, in Laudium.
The fencing was erected after numerous complaints by the community, that thieves used the canal as a getaway after attacking nearby homes and that the area was not safe for children, especially during rainy seasons. However since the erecting of the fence, slowly but surely, one by one piece, was being stolen by thieves, who after cutting it, merely walk away with it, without any fear of being caught by the local cops.
In the latest incident of palisade fencing theft, the alert Rafiq Moosa, a resident in the area, noticed a nyaope stealing a piece of the fence this past Monday afternoon (Jan 7) at around 3-30pm. Rafiq immediately took photos of the nyaope and circulated these on the WhatsApp chat group of the neighborhood for assistance to apprehend the culprit. However, when the thief saw some members of the community approaching, he immediately made an exit along the water canal and down the Millitary Road.
Resident in the area, Shaida Khan, told the Laudium Sun, “I was busy cooking in my kitchen on Monday afternoon when I heard screaming and shouting coming from outside. I went out to see what was happening and saw some neighbors yelling that a nyaope was stealing a piece of the fencing opposite our house. They tried to chase after him, but the guy was so fast in running away with a big piece of fence in his hand. He ran down the Military Road and one of the residents even went around with his car to try to corner the thief but he was gone. I suspect that this thief went quickly into a house or yard in White Blocks, as there are stories going around that there is a big buyer of stolen goods who lives in White Blocks. One of the residents showed me photos of the thief, which were captured by another resident, whilst the thief was busy stealing the fence. I then called the Laudium police, but by the time they arrived the thief was long gone. I told them to patrol the area to see if they could still find him as he was carrying a big piece of the fence and could not be missed, but they did not find him. The stealing around Laudium is really getting out of hand. We are hearing of a lot of the thefts and house break-ins around Laudium. The police also need to catch the drug dealers who are selling these drugs to the nyaopes, who in turn are stealing to be able to buy these drugs, in exchange for the goods stolen.”
Another resident, Dolly Mooloo, told the Laudium Sun, “This is not the first time that someone stole the fencing in this area. This is happening constantly and nothing is being done by the police. We don’t see the police patrolling the area. The honest fact is that the Laudium police are not out here doing their job, because if they were, our lovely place like Laudium would never have been in this condition.”
Sergeant Simon Chokoe of the Laudium SAPS, told the Laudium Sun that they often received complaints about the stealing of fencing on Agra street East and West, adding, “We are patrolling the area on a daily basis”.
