A joint investigation by the SA Police Services (SAPS) and Vodac has dealt a blow to organised cellphone theft, resulting in the recovery of 300 cellphones, 11 arrests, five confessions and almost 200 people being taken in for questioning.
Surveillance began on 1 December 1999 and the Hillbrow Detective Branch began raiding pawnshops and second-hand dealers just over four weeks later. Search and seizure warrants were served on seven pawnshops in the Hillbrow, Berea and Yeoville areas.
About 80% of cellphones confiscated were found to be stolen and three pawnshops have already been closed down. Between 20 and 30 cellphones continue to be recovered every day and it is believed that further arrests and seizures are imminent.
"Several cellphone theft rings have been smashed in this operation, which was funded by Vodac. [It is] a continuation of our war against criminals," says Graeme Victor, MD of Vodac.
"The importance of this operation lies in the fact that cellphones are often stolen during the commission of other, unrelated crimes. Consequently, the recovery of cellphones often leads to convictions for even more serious crimes."
Victims of cellphone theft will be able to reclaim their cellphones after the close of the SAPS investigation if they have reported their cellphones stolen and requested their cellphones blacklisted. Without an SAPS case number and a blacklisting request, any recovered cellphones will have to be returned to the persons from which they were initially retrieved; regardless of whether he or she is the rightful owner thereof.
For more information on averting cellphone theft, please call Vodacom on 124 from a Vodacom cellphone or 082 124 from a Telkom phone.
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