Woman arrested after shoplifting allegations
A 37-year-old woman was arrested after she allegedly stole chocolate bars worth R45 from Barberton Shoprite last Friday.
Shana Martinez was arrested by CIVA, which is contracted to provide security at the retailer.
She was reportedly caught on CCTV.
According to the officer, who is not permitted to speak to the media and therefore cannot be identified, Martinez came to the shop to make a purchase. The CCTV footage reportedly portrayed the woman hiding the items around her waist while filling a shopping basket with other things.
After paying for the items, she left the till in a hurry. The source speculated that this was a tactic to prevent security from searching her.
The officer said they requested her to produce the receipt for the items she had purchased and asked her to go to the security offices to conduct a body search.
She produced the receipt but refused to be searched, claiming she was in a hurry.
“Because we were almost 100 per cent sure that she had concealed something, we forced her to the security office. A scuffle between her and us (security officers) ensued, which drew the attention of consumers lining up at the tellers.”
When they searched her, they allegedly found four chocolates.
The Shoprite store manager, Edward Motau, refused to comment on the matter.
“This is a confidential matter between the store and the suspect. We can’t reveal any information to the press as the matter is being dealt with by the police,” he said.
Martinez was handed over to the Barberton SAPS.
According Capt Jabu Ndubane, Barberton police spokesman, a case of shoplifting against Martinez was opened.
“She was arrested around 16:00 and detained for a few hours. She was granted a bail of R500 on the same day, which she eventually paid around 19:00,” said Ndubane.
Martinez appeared in the Barberton Magistrate’s Court on Monday. Her case was postponed to June 7.
