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Durban – Police have rejected a suggestion that a crime syndicate is targeting Durban North, with spokesman Thulani Zwane saying that there is “no concrete evidence to that effect”.
This is despite reports from security companies whose staff have observed that, in most robberies they have attended, victims have said they were robbed by “a gang of five armed men”.
This was reiterated by Community Policing Forum (CPF) chairman Hayden Searles, who said crime in the area had been “fluctuating” since April.
“Most of these gangs operate in groups of between three and five, sometimes more,” he said. “There’s certainly been a spike in recent weeks. Most of the time it is smash-and-grabs – they derail the gate, smash the door open, and take whatever they want.”
Depending on the victim’s compliance, the robbers were not always violent.
“We’ve been fortunate that no one has been killed or seriously injured,” Searles said.
Blue Security director Darryn le Grange said seven robberies had been reported through the company’s control centre since the beginning of the month. Most involved five men who held up families and robbed them of valuables and vehicles. In the latest incident, four robbers held up a business in Glen Anil and made off with chocolates, airtime and cash, driving away in a gold VW Golf with no registration plates.
The 2011/12 police crime statistics recorded 115 aggravated robberies and 589 home burglaries in Durban North.
“Housebreakings are the most common crime in Durban North,” Marshall Security’s Tyron Powell confirmed.
Security companies, the CPF and police were working together to ensure a united front.
An operational control centre project would be monitoring radios of all security companies in the area.
“This ensures faster reaction times and assistance. Most companies in the area have come on board,” said Zwane.
Searles said: “We are not interested in politics. We are being terrorised and held to ransom by a small group of people and swift action needs to be taken.”
The Mercury
