Police warn of spike in theft out of vehicles in Durban North, uMhlanga

DURBAN North SAPS has warned residents of a spike in theft out of motor vehicles in uMhlanga and Durban North. The warning comes after eight cases were reported in the past six days. In most cases, tourists and visitors were targeted.

Capt Raymond Deokaran, spokesman for the station, said there had been a number of incidents in the area in the last month. There has been on average, more than 800 cases of theft out of motor vehicles a year in the precinct according to annual police crime stats.

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“At the moment we are urging specifically tourists from overseas and visitors from other provinces to not leave their valuables in plain sight in their vehicles while shopping at a mall or visiting the beach.  There has been a mixture of remote jamming cases as well as criminals breaking windows to gain access to the vehicle or suspects damaging the lock.”

In the video below from 2016, the remote jammers work expertly to steal a laptop from a car parked at a La Lucia service station.

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“This type of crime is preventable. Items such as laptops, cameras, and phones are what the suspects most often look for. I urge residents to double-check they have locked their cars and not to leave valuables in their cars,” he said.

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