Saved by technology

As residents were on holiday during the festive season, the notorious burglars were too, or so it may seem.

Fairland Police Station spokesperson Constable Michael Kgatla said the police station did not receive many complaints during the December holidays.

“It has been very quiet and we hope it means residents’ homes were safe,” said Const Kgatla.

According to him, there was one incident in the Fairland vicinity were police went undercover in civilian clothing and made successful arrests.

“On 26 December we had a complaint of housebreaking in Fairland,” he said.

Upon arrival on the scene, according to Kgatla, the property owner informed the police that various valuable had been stolen.

“The owner said plus minus R9 000 was stolen, valuables like an Ipad, computers and other things were stolen from the house.”

Kgatla said Fairland policemen went out of their way to ensure the goods were recovered with the help of the victim.

“The resident’s Ipad had a tracker and we were able to track it to Katlehong. These guys didn’t know the Ipad had a tracker because they came and put it in the shack and left, which is where it was found.

“This incident occurred during the day. Most people are away on holiday and the thieves take chances.”

Stolen goods from the house were recovered, but the police only recovered less than half of the money that was stolen, according to Kgatla.

“We were able to arrest two suspects for housebreaking and theft. These two will be kept in custody because they are foreigners and if released, they might run away.”