Snatch-and-swallow crime wave hits Durban

[Amanzi]

A new snatch-and-swallow crime phenomenon has hit Durban's Point area.

This emerged earlier this week when police, baffled by the disappearance of evidence such as necklaces and broaches in cases of snatch-and-run street crimes, took two youths to Addington Hospital for x-rays.

The x-rays revealed that the boys, both aged 19, were swallowing their loot before they could be caught.

Until Friday police from the Durban Metro Police Beach Crime Prevention Unit (BCPU) had been forced to release street criminals because they were unable to find the stolen property.

Becoming suspicious, BCPU investigators set up an observation post along Point Road, where most of the attacks take place, to see if they could find out what the gangs were doing with their loot.

Sergeant Greg Beavon said they became suspicious of the two 19-year-olds when they found them loitering on a street corner.

"We kept watch and saw them attack a 69-year-old woman, They pushed her to the ground, gabbed a R2 500 chain and pendant from her neck and fled.

"We chased after them and caught them a short distance away from they had attacked the elderly woman.

"We searched suspects. We went through all their clothing, including their shoes, but we could not find the jewellery. It was as though it had simply vanished," said Beavon.

He said minutes before they were about to release the youths they decided to take them to Addington Hospital for x-rays on the off-chance that they had swallowed the chain and pendant.

Beavon said they were quite surprised and amused when the x-rays showed that one of the youths had swallowed the chain, while the other had swallowed the pendant.

"I have heard of criminals swallowing evidence, but actually swallowing the loot is new to us," said Beavon

He said that in the past two weeks they had arrested 20 people for similar robberies on the beachfront. Once the jewellery was swallowed, the thieves waited until it had "passed through them" before selling it pawn shops.

"We are warning the owners of these shops that we will crack down on them and we will arrest them if they are caught in possession of stolen property," he said.

[streetsoldier]

I "feel" for the officers that have to retrieve the evidence...it's a "dirty job", but some one has to do it. :o

[pojo]

There was an article in our local paper's World section about SA. Homocide was the main theme of the paper. This was the article.


Cape Town Gang Violence Kills 7 Children

By ELLIOTT SYLVESTER
Associated Press Writer

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) -- Five little girls sang softly in the rain outside a Cape Town church Saturday as a community buried Roxanne Dickson - the seventh child killed in gang crossfire in the notorious Cape Flats district in just over a month.

Last Sunday, 5-year-old Roxanne was playing outside her home in the government housing project of Wesbank with her friend Renelda Windvogel when a gunman opened fire on the patrons of a nearby tavern.

Renelda was hit in the leg. A second stray bullet slammed into Roxanne's chest as she ran for the safety of her home. Her mother Jeanetta Dickson found her daughter slumped in the doorway with a bullet through her heart.

She died on the operating table of Tygerberg Hospital a few hours later.

"Bring back the death penalty. That is the only way these gangsters will stop this nonsense," said Roxanne's grandfather, David Cornelius, standing in the rain outside Wesbank's AGS Church.

"I know I am a Christian and it won't bring Roxanne back, but these criminals must be taught a lesson."

Provincial lawmaker Patrick McKenzie attended the funeral and vowed to take action against drug dealers and tavern owners in Cape Flats, a densely populated, crime-ridden township outside Cape Town. It is home to many of the 280 gangs in Western Cape, a province of about 3 million people, 5 percent of whom are believed to belong to gangs.

Shortly after the fatal shooting of four children in separate incidents within eight days, police raided the Cape Flats, arresting 200 rape, murder and crime suspects.

Police spokesman Neville Malila said police were facing a huge task with a lack of resources.

"Because we are understaffed, we have to tackle this strategically. We have dedicated operations that target certain areas on the Cape Flats we know are gang hotspots," Malila said.

The government has promised to deploy 4200 police officers and soldiers to the Cape Flats to quell the violence.

Jeanette Dickson sobbed uncontrollably as she leaned over the tiny coffin to kiss her child goodbye for the last time, asking a question six other mothers have asked in the last month: "Why my child?"

[Amanzi]

Yes Shannon. This is another major problem in South Africa. The gang's are awful, especially in Cape Town. I hear of children being killed, raped etc nearly every day.

If you want to have a look at just some of the stuff the average South African has to deal with on a dail basis. Click on the link
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=15

[weatherlover427]

I've never heard of that before. :o

[pojo]

oh my goodness