THE Durban North SAPS has expressed its concern over the spike in business robberies in uMhlanga and La Lucia.
The crime stats released last week showed that business burglaries had increased by 40 per cent from last year. Capt Raymond Deokaran spokesman for the Durban North SAPS said he believed a syndicate was operating in the area.
“What is concerning is that we’ve had six burglaries in the last two weeks alone. Some of the burglaries have taken place within business parks and we are urging businesses to take additional measures to bulk up security. There were two attempted burglaries this week where the suspects tried to kick-in the doors of two businesses within the same business park. Earlier this month a cell phone shop at Gateway was robbed of 17 phones worth R40 000. The station commander is aware of the spike and we are working on strategies to increase patrols to combat the scourge,” he said.
Deokaran added that the syndicate were after one item in particular.
“More than 80 per cent of the business burglary cases have involved the theft of computers. Some companies are being robbed more than once. There is a massive market for computers. The syndicate moves from area to area usually breaking into three companies close together at a time,” he said.
He further advised business owners and staff to be vigilant and to make sure they were not being followed or watched when arriving and leaving work as these are prime times when criminals strike.
