Syndicate update: “There is nothing we can do, this country is f****d” – policeman

After the Record published motorcyclist Pieter Fourie’s story of how he fell victim to an alleged syndicate and is getting no service from the police, the Record has received a barrage of stories that are almost identical.

Other motorcyclists have made shocking allegations about their experiences with the police’s ineptitude and apathy when it comes to investigating motorcycle thefts.

Wilma (she asked the Record not to reveal her surname) said her son’s motorcycle was stolen some time between 21 and 22 August. The police never took the CCTV footage of the incident as evidence. Later the day a warrant officer phoned her son, saying they recovered the motorcycle and arrested two suspects. He wanted to know whether her son “needed the motorcycle”. Her son replied yes and was then told if he would give the warrant officer a cold drink, he could have his motorcycle back the same day. He also said if he paid R200, which he had to e-wallet to the policeman’s cellphone, he would give him the names and identities of the suspect. Wilma went to Roodepoort Police Station to report the warrant officer, but the detective refused to believe her, saying it could not have been a real policeman. Wilma then decided to phone the warrant officer’s number herself. After he questioned her at length, he admitted to being a policeman. She could hear someone in the background saying, “This is the rape unit – we’re coming to rape you”. She went back to the police station and insisted the detective call the officer. The detective did and confirmed that it indeed was a officer of the Vehicle Theft Unit. The police said they would set a trap for him but never did. Up until the time of publication they have yet to hear from the police.

Jess Maier of Roodekrans said that on 26 May at about 1am their quad bike was stolen. They went looking for it themselves but when they could not find it, they called the police. When the police arrived four hours after the call had been made, they allegedly told the Maiers there was nothing they could do and added, “This country is f****d” before they left.

Corne Rawlins from Horison has his own horror story. His Yamaha R1 was stolen on 19 June. The police came out to take a statement and said they would sms him the case number, which they never did. When he complained to a colonel at Roodepoort Police Station, he was told that the docket was missing. A second statement was taken on 24 June. He asked the colonel to investigate why the docket was missing but never heard from him again. The police also failed to take fingerprints at the crime scene.

“I strongly believe that the first docket ‘going missing’ was a delay tactic to allow for the bike to be moved across the border. I believe the police are heavily involved in these motorcycle thefts,” said Rawlins.

He is offering R15 000 for the recovery of his motorcycle.

Fourie, whom the Record reported on first, said although the police promised last Friday (2 September) they would make clamping down on the syndicate a priority, he has yet to hear from them. “The station commander asked me for more time. I am so frustrated. Do they not want to investigate these thefts? The syndicate has threatened me and my family’s lives but the police still have not asked me how I recovered my own motorcycle. Are they going to protect me against the syndicate?” asked a furious Fourie.

When the Record met with Roodepoort Police Station spokesperson, Captain Nonhlanhla Khumalo last Friday she admitted that the police are struggling to wrap their heads around the motorcycle thefts. “We argued over it in a meeting but I just kept quiet. Coming from Soweto I did not deal with crimes like motorcycle thefts and dog poisonings. The people come here and report dog poisonings, but in our culture it does not get reported. We do not see dogs as property,” said Khumalo.

The Record has passed on all the serious allegations that victims have made, requesting comprehensive and detailed comment from the police urgently.

(In this article the Record has highlighted only three of the many cases brought to our attention. There are many more.)

Read more here:

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