Police crack down on suspects targeting tourists in the Lowveld

Two men with possible links to a crime syndicate were arrested by police last week, reports the Lowvelder.

Police linked the pair to more than 20 cases of theft out of motor vehicles in the Lowveld. It is also believed that they targeted foreign tourists.

Investigating officer Warrant Officer Gerrie le Grange confirmed that they could possibly be linked to a syndicate operating in the area. Between July 2016 and January 2017, 536 cases of theft out of motor vehicles were reported in the city.

Phumlane Ronald Nkosi, 30, and Sandile Harries Ngwenya, 32, appeared in the Nelspruit District Court on Monday.

They were first caught on camera last Monday at 10.47am when they allegedly broke into a Mozambican tourist’s car.

CCTV footage showed them removing a bag. Their getaway vehicle was a rental. On that same day at about 11.40am in the Sonpark Industrial area, German tourists went into a workshop to speak to the owner. The shop is owned by the father of police detective, Sergeant Michael Horn. He had been visiting his father when the tourists came in.

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As they left the workshop, the Germans found their bags with all their belongings gone from their vehicle.

Horn checked the CCTV footage and saw the two suspects breaking into the car using a remote jammer. He traced the registration number that showed the vehicle was a rental. Horn tracked it to Sabie on Thursday. With the assistance of Phoenix Security, the vehicle was stopped in the town’s main road.

“The vehicle was searched, and some of the stolen property was retrieved,” he said.

The two took him to where they had hidden the rest of the loot.

“We found the Germans’ passports and retrieved their euros,” Horn added.

He said the overall value of the stolen items was about  R100 000.

Le Grange said they profiled the accused through their identity numbers and fingerprints and linked them to more cases. “We found Nkosi had used nine false names and three false surnames in the past,” he said.

Nkosi has three theft out of vehicle cases and one of robbery pending in Nelspruit. In Barberton, he has three housebreaking and theft cases. Four of them were still outstanding.

Ngwenya used eight different false names over the years and two false surnames. He had previous convictions for housebreaking and theft dated back to 2002. He also has four outstanding warrants of arrests, two cases of assault and theft in Nelspruit, three cases in Barberton and an armed robbery in Lydenburg.

Corne Schalkwyk, co-owner of Tours & Tickets South Africa, said an increase in crime has a serious detrimental impact on any tourist destination.

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“We have to be mindful of the fact that our guests within a region have many other options. We can’t afford an image of insecurity, as it directly or indirectly affects the decision-making process, and the destination choice,” he said.

Schalkwyk welcomed that the action taken by the police.

“Serious crime has a major impact on a destination and its worth, taking into account that it also impacts on general retail sales. Tourism is not an isolated industry, especially in the Lowveld,” he added.

Schalkwyk said he knew while South Africa was in many respects an attractive tourist destination, fear of crime was a deterrent to potential visitors.

– Caxton News Service

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