A SPIKE in business burglaries over the festive season in the Richards Bay central business district prompted police to take action and track down the culprits.
A team of detectives worked tirelessly last week and made a breakthrough when they arrested six suspects linked to several cases.
Goods such as truck tyres, batteries, cellphones, laptops and bags were recovered.
Richards Bay SAPS Station Commander, Brigadier Brenda Mgenge, said they were disturbed by the increase in business burglaries.
Since the arrests no further burglaries have been reported.
‘Officers conducted several raids and we want to assure the public we are doing our best to solve these crimes.
‘The arrested suspects have also been linked to theft out of motor vehicles, which was another major problem over the December period. Incidents of car remote jamming was also reported.
Spike
Mgenge said one of the factors contributing to the high number of business burglary cases was the rise in unemployment.
‘Many of the suspects are unemployed and living in the greenbelt areas around the CBD.
‘They are targeting local businesses and we have noticed an increase in shoplifting as well.
‘We were also able to significantly reduce high priority crimes such as armed robberies and violent crimes over December.
‘We are extremely grateful to our SAPS team who worked over the busy period and also to our Community Policing Forums for their ongoing support.’
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