News / Local
Four thieves arrested over spate of thefts from vehicles
22 Aug 2012 at 03:23hrs | Views
Bulawayo police have arrested four men in connection with a spate of thefts from vehicles in Queens Park and Sauerstown.
Following the arrest, police yesterday said they expected to solve at least 22 cases of theft, with the assistance of the suspects. They said the names of the suspects were being withheld as they were thought to be part of a larger syndicate.
Acting police spokesperson for Bulawayo Assistant Inspector Bekimpilo Ndlovu said property worth about $3 400 out of about $6 500 that was reported stolen was recovered.
"The gang is suspected to have embarked on a theft spree between 1 April and 8 August. We arrested them following intelligence reports that led to police detaining and questioning a suspect on 8 august," said Asst Insp Ndlovu.
"We got a tipoff that a certain resident had recently fitted three wheels on his car suspected to have beeen stolen. A follow up led to the arrest of the person, who led police to the other three on Wednesday last week."
Asst Insp Ndlovu said four complete wheels, 15 tyres, 14 rims, a generator, two car batteries, a car radio, an amplifier and wheel spanners were among the recovered items.
He appealed to residents who had their vehicles broken into during the four months the gang was operating to go to Bulawayo Central Police Station to identify their property.
"We also appeal to people to put distinguishing marks on their property to make it easy to positively identify the property once it is recovered from thieves. They should also put lock-nuts on the wheels of their vehicles to make them more difficult to steal," said Asst Insp Ndlovu.
He also encouraged residents to make reports on crime, saying the frequency of reports helped police to identify trend and deploy officers accordingly.Asst Insp Ndlovu thanked the informants who supplied information that led to the arrest of the gang members.
Without their assistance, we would not be able to achieve much.
He said it was too early to link the gang to the theft of car wheels from at least seven houses in Sauerstown on Thursday, adding that the suspects would appear in court soon.
Following the arrest, police yesterday said they expected to solve at least 22 cases of theft, with the assistance of the suspects. They said the names of the suspects were being withheld as they were thought to be part of a larger syndicate.
Acting police spokesperson for Bulawayo Assistant Inspector Bekimpilo Ndlovu said property worth about $3 400 out of about $6 500 that was reported stolen was recovered.
"The gang is suspected to have embarked on a theft spree between 1 April and 8 August. We arrested them following intelligence reports that led to police detaining and questioning a suspect on 8 august," said Asst Insp Ndlovu.
"We got a tipoff that a certain resident had recently fitted three wheels on his car suspected to have beeen stolen. A follow up led to the arrest of the person, who led police to the other three on Wednesday last week."
Asst Insp Ndlovu said four complete wheels, 15 tyres, 14 rims, a generator, two car batteries, a car radio, an amplifier and wheel spanners were among the recovered items.
He appealed to residents who had their vehicles broken into during the four months the gang was operating to go to Bulawayo Central Police Station to identify their property.
"We also appeal to people to put distinguishing marks on their property to make it easy to positively identify the property once it is recovered from thieves. They should also put lock-nuts on the wheels of their vehicles to make them more difficult to steal," said Asst Insp Ndlovu.
He also encouraged residents to make reports on crime, saying the frequency of reports helped police to identify trend and deploy officers accordingly.Asst Insp Ndlovu thanked the informants who supplied information that led to the arrest of the gang members.
Without their assistance, we would not be able to achieve much.
He said it was too early to link the gang to the theft of car wheels from at least seven houses in Sauerstown on Thursday, adding that the suspects would appear in court soon.
Source - TC
