Two men have appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate`s Court in connection with a series of laptop thefts in Pretoria and Johannesburg. The case was postponed for a week.
Detective inspector Diekie van der Westhuizen says the two men, aged 20 and 22, were arrested at the Kempton Park PG Autoglass this week after they entered the premises claiming to be fire inspectors. PG Autoglass staff contacted the police and the two were arrested for trespassing.
"They were wearing uniforms in the colours of North Rand Fire Services and Pretoria-based Firetech," says Van der Westhuizen. Several other PC theft cases reported in Gauteng this year also involved men dressed in fire services uniforms.
Van der Westhuizen says the men were also charged with stealing a laptop from the attorney-general`s office in Pretoria last week. Police are investigating connections to other thefts in Pretoria, Johannesburg and Cape Town, as well as connections to other suspected syndicates.
The men were remanded into custody and will appear again next Wednesday when they are expected to make a bail application.
Firetech manager Val Groom says she is delighted to hear the police have made a breakthrough in the case.
"We have been receiving reports since last year and even hired a private investigator at the beginning of this year to work on the case."
While the two have been arrested, Groom says Firetech was contacted on Tuesday by the Department of Public Works in Pretoria, which said two inspectors claiming to be from Firetech were there to do an inspection. When Groom told them no inspectors had been sent out, the two men fled.
Van der Westhuizen says in some of the cases, phoney inspectors have also told companies they were there to fix carpets or to deliver and collect post. After gaining access to a building, they would then steal unattended laptops and other computer accessories.
He asked businesses that had been robbed in this manner to contact him on 072 409 3127.
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