A mother from Roodekrans, Karen Jacobs, has asked the Record to warn residents against a trio of criminals who allegedly prey on youngsters.
At approximately 2pm on 25 November her son (13), his brother (10) and two friends of 13 and 14 years respectively, were riding their bicycles between Belladonna and Ouklip Roads. They decided to sit on the pavement to take a break when a woman approached them.
According to her oldest son the skinny woman asked them if they wanted to make money. He told her that they were not interested but his friends’ curiosity got the better of them. She went on to explain that her house was just around the corner and if they came and helped her to count sweets she would pay them. She then spun a tale of how on a previous occasion some children who helped her to count stole some of the sweets and therefore she needed their cellphones (worth more than R10 000) and basketball caps (expensive brand names) as surety. She said she would mark them with stickers and return them afterwards.
The three boys who were interested in the ‘business deal’ handed the items over while the reluctant boy, who did not have his cellphone on him, refused.
The woman then motioned another man over. According to the boys he was tall, well built, well dressed, had a gold front tooth and wore a lot of jewellery including various golden rings. They disappeared around the corner of the house she claimed to live in, but got into a dark green Kia Carnival, which was driven by a third man and drove off with the boys’ belongings.
The woman is said to have three gold teeth and introduced herself as ‘Candice’. All the suspects are estimated to be in their early 20s. According to the boys they tried to get the registration number of the vehicle but the number plate was obscured somehow.
