Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Thieves target solar panels in Gordon’s Bay
THIEVES apparently driven by load shedding are stealing solar panels from homes in a remote area outside Gordon’s Bay, a problem that has grown so much that local police have prioritised it.
And members of a gang suspected of using concrete blocks to smash their way into various shops in Strand were arrested this week after authorities lay in wait for them – the gang had been targeting stores that stock car batteries.
Heyns de Waal, chief operating officer of Gordon’s Bay Security, believes these crimes, especially the theft of solar panels, were sparked by load shedding.
“You have to link your solar panels to your home alarm. You cannot leave them unguarded. They are coming for solar panels,” he warned.
Eskom regional spokeswoman Jolene Henn said no thefts of solar panels or batteries had been reported to the power utility in the province.
“We, however, had a recent theft incident of six sealed cell batteries stolen from an Eskom site, but this was not due to load shedding.
“Unfortunately criminal activities occur whether we load shed or not,” she said.
The remote area of Rocky Bay, between Gordon’s Bay and Rooi Els and which does not have electricity, has been targeted repeatedly by thieves going after solar panels. A few dozen homes are situated in the area.
This week police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Andre Traut confirmed that a number of cases were under investigation.
“This office can confirm that policing to address the theft of solar panels in the mentioned area has been prioritised by the local police, and operational measures have been implemented.”
While Traut declined to provide figures on how many panels had been stolen, Week- end Argus understands that at least three homes were targeted weekly.
De Waal said thieves had previously not been interested in the deep-cycle batteries which solar panels charge, but that this had changed.
The batteries stored much more power than car batteries.
According to De Waal, the area outside Gordons Bay, and not the centre of the town, was being targeted because it was more rural and residents relied on solar panels for power. He believed the panels were either being used by those who stole them, or being sold on the black market.
The gang suspected of going after car batteries was arrested in Strand on Tuesday.
De Waal said a specialised unit tasked with crime prevention had started tracking where and when the gang struck. About two weeks ago they broke into a car shop in Strand in the early hours of the morning, stealing 33 car batteries.
The gang broke in again last week, again in the early hours of the morning, stealing 12 more car batteries, and went after a drop safe.
The next day, the Tuesday, the gang smashed their way into a clothing store, and on the Wednesday, at 2.45am, broke into another Strand car shop stealing 13 new and two used car batteries.
In each incident a big rock or piece of concrete was used to smash open the front window of the shop.
“They throw it through the front window, then grab items and load them. They’re in and out in four minutes, they don’t care about alarms,” De Waal said.
The special operations officers had then decided to try and catch the thieves redhanded by lying in wait for them.
“We identified four premises they were likely rob,” he said.
In the early hours of each morning, from last Wednesday to Tuesday this week, the officers staked out the stores.
Early on Thursday, De Waal said, the officers spotted a car with tinted windows driving towards one shop.
Officers in an unmarked car followed and saw the vehicle driving up and down the main road.
The officers called the police.
De Waal said police, as well as vehicles from his company, then started chasing the car, eventually stopping it on the N2 after it collided with a security vehicle. Three suspects, aged 28, 30 and 32, were arrested.