Students are robbed at White River hostel

WHITE RIVER - Some students were robbed of their cellphones and laptops at a hostel on August 3.

White River Fidelity ADT’s manager, Joe de Bruyn, said they arrived on the scene followed by Hi-Tech Security.

“Our officers made contact with the victims and were told that a group of seven armed unknown suspects had broken into the hostel where some students were relaxing. They were told to keep quiet and instructed to undress while the robbers searched for valuables,” he said.

The suspects eventually managed to flee with laptops, cellphones and clothing belonging to the students.

“All goods were loaded into a Toyota Avanza belonging to the hostel’s owner. The police and local security companies responded to the incident, but on

‘We are pleading with the public not to buy stolen goods as they will also be charged with possession of suspected stolen property’

arrival, the suspects had already fled the scene, using the owner’s vehicle as the gateway car,” he said. De Bruyn said the security companies launched a search, resulting in the recovery of the empty stolen vehicle after about half an hour in Spioenkop Road outside White River.

A provincial police spokesperson, Brigadier Selvy Mohlala, confirmed the incident and said anyone with information of the incident may call the Crime Stop number on 08600 10111, or send information via the My SAPS app. All information received will be treated with confidentiality and callers may opt to remain anonymous.

“We are pleading with the public not to buy stolen goods as they will also be charged with possession of suspected stolen property. Buying stolen goods are encouraging criminals to rob innocent people because they know they have a market for them,” he said.

One of the students said, “We still do not understand how they managed to get into the yard and knew that we had laptops. All along we thought we had security on the inside to make sure that we are safe at all times, and then this happened.”

The owner of the property was not available for a comment.