PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - Two incidents of car theft in Plettenberg Bay were reported within hours of each other over the past week.
Plettenberg Bay police spokesperson Captain Marlene Pieterse said that a red Isuzu bakkie was stolen from Maplin Drive in Plettenberg Bay between 22:00 on Thursday 19 July and 08:00 the next day.
Thanks to the vigilance of traffic officers in the Eastern Cape, the stolen vehicle was recovered on 20 July.
“The bakkie was stopped by traffic officers between Butterworth and Mthatha in the Eastern Cape,” Pieterse said.
'Thief's' cellphone recovered
She added that the suspect ran away from the officers but left his cellphone behind. “The vehicle and the cellphone were recovered on the Friday evening and handed in at Idutywa police station.”
She said a case of motor vehicle theft was reported at the Plettenberg Bay police station, but the case was transferred to the vehicle theft unit in George for further investigation.
No arrests have been made
According to the Plettenberg Bay Crime Association (PBCPA) another vehicle, a 1997 white Mazda Sting sedan, was stolen in Longships Road on the same evening.
PBCPA operations head Otto Olivier said the incidents highlighted the importance of reporting the crimes immediately to the relevant authorities.
Reporting procedure explained
He added that in some cases residents would report an incident on their respective neighbourhood watch WhatsApp groups.
“Unfortunately our system is not without its flaws and sometimes WhatsApp messages don’t get picked up for whatever reason,” Olivier said.
He suggested phoning the PBCPA hotline immediately. “By phoning the hotline you have the assurance of being heard and the control room will immediately pass the alert on to the relevant response units.”
Olivier explained that when reporting to the hotline, make a note of the time and who the person was you spoke to.
“Also, when phoning the hotline and alerting your watch group, relay as much detail as you can. 'Suspicious' and 'dodgy' are not tangible or actionable descriptions.”
The PBCPA hotline is 082 251 8134.
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