Bread truck operators extorted, robbed or killed

BREAD truck operators are having to pay up to an R10 000 entry fee for protection, with a monthly fee of R600 by a syndicate operating from a taxi rank in Delft.

Crime intelligence teams, who met with the Weekend Argus together with a bread truck delivery operators, said if they didn’t pay for protection, they would face intimidation or robbery or death.

In Delft, private security task teams are often hired to escort bread delivery trucks that do not have the signature marking on them that confirms they had paid protection money.

Corporate bread retailers said they were aware of the intimidation of agents, and they have encouraged them to report it to the police.

The Ministry of Community Safety also confirmed they were closely monitoring bread truck robberies, which are on the rise.

It is believed more than 300 bread trucks carry out deliveries in the Cape daily.

Just last week, two bread truck robberies occurred in Delft and two suspects were detained.

A few hours later, Delft Community Policing Forum chairperson Jamiel Spannenberg, 50, was shot six times in Delft while delivering bread.

Spannenberg, a former police reservist who had served his community for over 30 years, was a dedicated father and grandfather and had often escorted bread trucks and assisted in arrests of suspects.

The suspect fled with Spannenberg’s firearm.

Reginald Maart, the chairperson of the CPF, called for the police and Department of Community Safety to offer a cash reward for information about the shooting.

Police spokesperson Sergeant Siyabonga Dyantyi said police were unaware of any syndicates and that Spannenberg’s case was still under investigation.

A bread truck operator, who cannot be identified for security reasons, said a team of private security guards escorted him and his staff as early as 4.30am daily.

The operator has chosen not to pay for protection.

“I have been in this trade for over 20 years, and this is the first time this has happened. Three other operators were shot before Jamiel’s death, and they are still alive, and the gunmen are out on bail,” he added.

“They are a group operating from a taxi rank in Delft, and they extort agents and drivers to pay protection, or they will rob you or shoot you.

“They can ask you between R4 000 and R10 000 entry fee and then a fee of R600 per month and they are doing it to the milk trucks, furniture trucks, cold meats and spaza shops. I have been robbed twice already.”

A security escort said they risked their lives protecting delivery trucks every day.

“They tell you to pay your taxes, or your life will be in danger, and it all began in areas like Khayelitsha, and now it’s in Delft,” he said.

“The problem is, you do not know who it is. They just pull up and hold the person at gunpoint, and those who pay for protection, their trucks are marked.”

A corporate bread retailer group spokesperson for Fast Moving Consumer Goods said they were concerned about the intimidation of agents.

“Premier has been advised of incidents of intimidation of bread agents within the Cape Town suburbs. We have advised the agents to report this intimidation to the police. We will continue to monitor the situation and work with the relevant authorities.”

Provincial spokesperson for the South African National Taxi Council, Gershon Geyer, said they were not aware of the syndicate operating at a Delft taxi rank but would bring it to the attention of authorities.