Motorcycle syndicate: The imaginary task team and other fairytales

Almost two months after Pieter Fourie‘s three motorcycles were stolen and he had taken the police to task, it is still unclear what is being done to address the issue.

Fourie’s motorcycles were stolen on 8 August. He did not take it lying down and demanded that the police investigate the case. He provided them with a load of intelligence he had gathered himself. All attempts by both Fourie and the Record to establish the status of ‘the case’ have been either fruitless or unsatisfactory.

Roodepoort Police Station initially said a task team was formed to investigate, but to date there has been no proof that such a task team exists. Both the station and provincial structure have still not responded to an email (sent on 21 September) in which proof of such a task team was requested and, if it does exist, what it entails. Fourie is also disappointed that a different investigating officer (IO) has been appointed to his case for the third time, but that no inroads have yet been made. The best Crime Intelligence could do was appoint the latest IO. “Two months of communication between me and the police has been fruitless. Promises made by Crime Intelligence to come back to me have also not been honoured,” said an irate Fourie.

Fourie also provided the police with information about similar thefts elsewhere in the country and asked them if they could link the cases to investigate the possibility that a syndicate might be involved, but was told they (the police) “could not get hold of the IO”. He is also questioning how pro-active the police have been since receiving all the information pointing to an alleged syndicate. “Have they circulated the info among their members and various Community Policing Forums (CPFs)?” asked Fourie.

The Record sent the original request for comment to Roodepoort Police as well as the provincial structure again today, adding the following questions:

• Was there or was there not a task team formed to investigate the alleged transnational motorcycle theft syndicate? If so, what does it entail?

• Why does Fourie still claim that after two months there still is hardly any communication between Roodepoort Police and himself?

• What are the police doing pro-actively about the epidemic of motorcycle thefts since it has been brought to their attention? Have CPFs been informed, members made more aware of it, etc?

• It is believed the syndicate operates nationally. Has any attempt been made to investigate this? (We have spoken to two separate Crime Intelligence officers. One admitted outright that due to corruption in the police, both in South Africa and in Mozambique, it would be too difficult to form a task team since the syndicate will be tipped off by corrupt police members.)

CPFs in Florida have confirmed that Florida Police Station management has taken the allegations of a syndicate serious and informed them to be vigilant and pro-active.

After finding out about the allegations in the media, Roodepoort CPF chairperson Leon Vieira told the Record he is taking it seriously and has brought it to the attention of all the crime-fighting role players in Roodepoort. He also escalated it to Roodepoort Police Station.

“We are definitely pro-active as far as this serious problem is concerned,” he concluded.

Read more here:

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