While many South Africans stayed at home at the weekend,
thieves stole alcohol worth R9,000 from a locked-up Cape Town bar.
It seems the threat of Covid-19 is not enough to keep
criminals at home: delinquents also broke into a fishery and a baby store in
Cape Town's city centre.
The Cape Town Central Improvement District (CCID) said on
Tuesday that 16 suspects had been arrested since the weekend. Bob’s Bar,
Harrington’s, Revelas Fisheries and Liny’s Baby shop were hit during the crime
spree.
CCID safety and security manager Mo Hendricks described the
crimes as “sporadic”.
“In the biggest arrest, which took place on Sunday at
10.35am, seven suspects were arrested for breaking into Liny’s Baby Shop on the
corner of Plein and Strand streets near Cape Town station,” said Hendricks.
“Three suspects were also arrested on Sunday for breaking
into Revelas Fisheries in Long Street, with another two arrested for a house
break-in on the corner of Buitengracht and Wale streets.”
Martinus Jenkins, the CCID’s public safety officer, said
the “most dramatic arrest took place on Saturday when three suspects were
spotted ... inside the alley next to Bob’s Bar in Constitution Street.
“Three suspects disappeared inside the premises, and the
steel door was closed from the inside. Two of them then tried to escape by
jumping from the top of the door but they were apprehended by CCID officers,”
he said.
“The third suspect was thought to have remained inside the
building. When I arrived on the scene at 6.45pm, I requested assistance from
[the police] and informed the business owners of Harrington’s and Bob’s Bar
respectively of the incident, so that we could search for the third suspect
inside their premises.
“It was then discovered that alcohol to the value of R9,000
had been stolen from Bob’s Bar. The third suspect was never found. We believe
he escaped over the rooftops and jumped down into Canterbury Street. The other
suspects were arrested, and cases of theft opened against them.”
Two other suspects were arrested for being in the possessed
of implements used to break into cars.
“We will not tolerate criminal activity in the CBD during
the lockdown while our nation is trying to combat the coronavirus crisis,” said
Hendricks.
“Criminals need to know that they will be caught and
brought to book: we have 300 public safety officers working shifts 24/7, and
they have been briefed and know what to look out for.”Sowetan
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