A PRIVATE investigator has tracked down a house-breaking gang, believed to be behind a spate of burglaries and addicted to whoonga, operating in the Crestholme area.
Blue Security special projects manager, Stephen Wimborne, said the company had hired a private investigator who had recently traced the alleged house-breakers as a gang living in Molweni.
He said housebreakings had been rampant in Woodbush Road, Woodlands Road and Bridalvale Road, despite strong visible policing and earlier arrests in the suburb.
“We had made several arrests in the area over the months, but we were concerned that the house-breakings had persisted with residents being hit more than once in some cases,” he said.
The local private investigator worked closely with the SAPS K9 Unit to stake out the area, and within weeks managed to obtain information that led them to a gang of three alleged whoonga addicts.
“He discovered that the gang would break into the houses early in the morning, grabbing valuables such as tools, laptops and televisions, and that they would then go and sell the goods to taxi drivers who were passing through the area,” said Wimborne.
Wimborne said one of the gang members was arrested and taken to the Hillcrest Police Station for further questioning before being released with a warning.
Crestholme Neighbourhood Watch vice-chairman, Travis Goveia, said the number of incidents in the vicinity and the number of house-breakings had dropped dramatically since the arrests.
“We hope that these latest arrests and warning send a strong message to the gang and to any other criminals that they cannot expect to operate here with impunity and not be tracked to their own homes to face the consequences. We will continue to work together with security companies and the police, employing the necessary resources to ensure that criminals are brought to book,” he said.
