A resident has come forward to send a stern warning to motorists to be aware of spotters walking around with remote jamming devices, targeting cars parked at Gillooly’s Farm.
This is after she became a victim on July 1 while she was enjoying the weekly Parkrun that takes off from Gillooly’s.
“I had my entire boot cleaned out which included my blue kit bag with everything inside, my Red Walk the Talk kit bag, cellphone, Bluetooth, purse, JVC radio face in its box, wallet with all my credit cards, tekkies, gym towel, gloves, sunglasses, track top, house keys and remotes, ID, Drivers Licence and they even took my spare tyre,” said the resident who prefers to remain anonymous.
Also read: Car jamming caught on camera
“They walk around the parking area remote jamming cars while the park runners are away between 8am and 9am. They have a field day. The security staff only sit at the entrance and do not walk around, so this is heaven for these thieves,” she indicated.
The victim said on the day she had arrived at the farm at around 7.45am.
“After using the remote to lock my car, I always check my car door, but only on the driver’s side. The strange thing was I got out of my car and went to open the boot and a man walked past me and he looked at me. He was in his early to mid-20’s and he was not wearing any running gear, which I thought was strange. “He had his hands in his pockets, so he could have been concealing a remote jammer,” she explained.
“He walked past me so he could probably see what I had in my boot. You can only open my boot with a key or from inside the car. I always remove things that are visible in my car and place them in the boot,” she added.
She added that her car is a hatchback so they must have entered the car from the back door and pulled down the back seat to get into the boot to clean it out.
Upon her return from the run and realising that her car had been ransacked, she approached the security at the Gillooly’s entrance.
Also read: Car jamming video footage disappears
“He said they didn’t see anything, but said they only sit in the booth at the entrance and do not walk around. He took down my contact details just in case the police came to investigate.”
The victim opened a case of theft on the same day.
Bedfordview SAPS spokesperson, Capt Andrè de Jager, confirmed this.
“One car was broken into and the suspect is unknown. We had police officers patrolling the area but as there is more than one access way into the park. We did not find any person walking around with a jamming device or car break-in implements. We are still monitoring the area with regular patrols,” explained the spokesperson.
De Jager said they urged the community to report any suspicious person within the area. The complainant raised the issue with Parkrun volunteers. “They have suggested trying to arrange volunteers with dogs to walk around the parking area between the hours of 8am and 9am while all the runners are away.”
Has this incident stopped her from visiting the farm? “Yes,” she responded.
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