As we approach the festive season, like every year, crime during this period escalates, with police doing very little to be pro-active in curbing the crime.
More so, our intelligence service seemingly have no clue as to who the crime kingpins or syndicates are, and who the buyers of the stolen goods are, just as they had no clue beforehand about the mass lootings that the country witnessed this June in shock, which continued for days, with police merely looking on as they did not have the resources or manpower to stop the looting. What is evident is that the more serious crimes are now starting again and residents are once more called upon to be vigilant at all times. This was evident in yet another armed robbery taking place, this time last Sunday, (October 10). Naeem Patel, the owner of New A1 Fruit and Vegie, on 9th Ave, in the Laudium CBD, told the Laudium Sun, “My brother Salim Patel had just opened the shop at around 9am. Because it was Sunday, we did not open very early. Not long after opening, about thirty minutes later, four black guys came into the shop, all of a sudden. They had guns and the fifth guy was waiting in the car, a Silver Polo Vivo, which we saw later on CCTV. There were even some customers in the shop at the time. They demanded money from my brother and threatened to shoot him. The more my brother tried explaining to them that he did not have money as he had just opened the shop, the more aggressive they became. One of the gang members pulled out a knife and tried to stab him, but fortunately he missed my brother and managed to just scratch him a little. The other thugs were busy robbing our customers. They took their cellphones and wallets and made them lie on the floor. They stole two cellphones from my brother and some petty cash which was in the till. The security guy who normally stands at the door, then came in. I’m not sure where he was before. These thugs then grabbed him just as he was getting inside and stole two cellphones that he had on him. This high crime is very bad for our business as customers are now afraid to come to the CBD. Something has to be done about this terrible crime in Laudium. The thugs do what they want and take what they want, because they know that they have the power of a gun in their hand and they also know that the police are not effective and that the law is of no help to us.”
Lucas Malaka, the security guard from Pro-Active Security, said, “I was standing across the street, as that is where I stand at times, to look around the street. I normally walk around and even stand at the door of the shop, as my job is also to look inside and check outside. I then heard some screaming, so I went into the shop to check what was happening. As I was about to go inside, one of the gang members grabbed me and pointed a gun at me. He pulled me inside the shop, then these other guys took my two cellphones. They were speaking Sepedi (local language), so I think they were local. They then made us lie down on the floor and told us not to move or else they would shoot us. Before we even knew what was happening, they were all gone.”
Sergeant Simon Chokoe, of the Laudium SAPS, said, “A case of armed robbery has been opened and it is alleged that four suspects went inside the shop and demanded money and stole a number of cellphones. No arrests have yet been made. Police are investigating. If there is any information that the community can assist us with, I urge them to come forward. Working together, we can stop crime.”
