UPDATE: 8 November 2016, 12pm – Following the recent report on cellphone theft at the intersection of William Nicol and Republic, another case has come to light.
On 2 November at about 5.50pm, a woman was held up in traffic at gunpoint and robbed of her cellphone, jewellery and wallet. According to the victim she was threatened with a firearm and the perpetrators removed the keys to her car and demanded her valuables or they would shoot her.
“They took the phone, the cash out of my wallet and my engagement ring. When the traffic started to move they handed back the cashless wallet and car keys.”
The victim stated that she was warned to drive and not try anything funny.
The incident was initially reported at Randburg police station, but then moved to Sandton police station.
The victim said that her belongings was out of sight, but her window was roughly half way down due to the heat.
INITIAL REPORT: 7 November 2016, 3:30pm – A local resident has been left severely traumatised after two men robbed him of his cellphone at gunpoint while he was sitting in his vehicle at an intersection.
The incident happened on 28 October at the intersection of Republic Road and William Nicol Drive at around 7pm. The victim was approached by two males armed with guns and told to hand over his cellphone.
“We are aware of about five other incidents, but there could be much more that are unknown,” said Andre Snyman of eBlockwatch.
“The theft was reported to the police for insurance purposes and after the victim received a new phone, an SMS was sent to the number stating a case number and a link to verify his login details. This is a scam to get your personal details. We tracked the phone to Bree Street in Johannesburg,” said Snyman.
“I contacted the police and they said that it was not the correct case number. The IMEI number was also different.”
Snyman said the robbers target people sitting in traffic and then disappear along the river.
Lieutenant Colonel Andre de Klerk from Sandton Police Station said, “We do visible patrols and undercover patrols every night and station officers in the areas where crimes take place.” He added that the incidents often happen in the late afternoons as people are on their way home from work.
“People should not make themselves easy targets. Keep windows rolled up and cellphones out of sight, as people are often on their phones when stuck in traffic,” said De Klerk. He urged motorists to be vigilant when in traffic and at intersections.
He stated that most of the cellphones, when traced, end up in the city or Hillbrow and surrounds.
“We had some success recently when we arrested three suspects during the month of August, who are connected to nine other crime incidents. In this case, they used toy guns to rob people,” said De Klerk.
The latest incident happened on 2 November at the corner of William Nicol and Ballyclare drives and De Klerk urged drivers to be vigilant.
