BUSINESS owners on Crompton Street in Pinetown are exasperated by the amount of robberies and copper thefts that have been plaguing them in the area. According to Renier Meyer, the owner of Cool Power Air-conditioning, his business was subjected to five incidents in the past six months.
“For the last two years we haven’t had one single incident, but for the last several months crime has just escalated in the area at an alarming rate,” said Meyer. The copper thefts have been particularly debilitating to the businesses in the area, reported Meyer.
“When copper wires or pipes are stolen it causes an extensive financial loss, as it often takes a couple of days for the wires or pipes to be replaced. During those days we cannot provide certain services to our clients and cannot run our businesses properly,” said Meyer. According to Caroline Holtzhausen, who owns a business across from Meyer with her husband Ethan, the criminals often burn the copper that they have stolen by the small stream on the corner of Crompton Street and Shepstone Road.
“When they burn the copper there is this dark smoke that often blocks the visibility of the road. We have been proactive and have cleared up the area to discourage them from burning the copper there. They also use the area near the river to escape after they have robbed people. My husband has gone into the area on several occasions and confiscated the copper, but by the next day they are back. At one point there was a pile of computers that they had stripped and dumped in the river,” said Holtzhausen.
Holtzhausen also reported that they have been trying to get the area fenced off in to further discourage people from entering the area, but have not had considerable success in the endeavour.
Andreas Mathios, of Pro Act Neighbourhood Watch, confirmed that they have received reports regarding the copper thefts on Crompton Street and reported that they, in conjunction with the Pinetown SAPS, are investigating the thefts.
“The copper thefts have definitely escalated in the last few months, as we are approaching the festive season. There are several covert operations in progress to suppress the thefts,” said Mathios.
On Sunday 20 October two thieves broke into Meyer’s business and attempted to steal a flat-screen television.
“From the camera footage you can clearly see that they have been inside the office before, as they knew exactly where the cameras were. They were able to hide their faces,” said Meyer.
Rishal Rajkumar, a technician at Cool Power Air-conditioning reported that on a previous occasion the thieves stole a 60kg air-conditioner from the back of the office, by pushing it in a wheelbarrow.
