In less than two weeks, another iStore has been robbed in Gauteng.
About ten days ago the first store was robbed in Cresta, and two days later the Glen Shopping Mall’s branch bared the brunt of another audacious attack – and now Centurion has been hit.
According to early media reports, the perpetrators didn’t manage to get away with valuables and five arrests have already been made – which has since been refuted by the police.
#iStoreRobbery The Centurion Community Policing Forum says five people have been arrested in connection with the armed robbery.
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) August 22, 2014
#iStoreRobbery Police are unable to confirm whether arrests have been made. But the CPF maintains five people have been arrested.
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) August 22, 2014
While its unconfirmed, according to the user Garyvdh, in a popular MyBroadband forum post, the spate of cellular store robberies in Gauteng paints a bleak picture:
2014-04-24 = Vodacom Store, Monument Park Shopping Centre.
2014-07-14 = MTN Store, Alberton City Shopping Centre
2014-07-30 = The Samsung Store, The Glen Shopping Centre
2014-07-31 = Telkom Direct Store, Alberton City Shopping Centre.
2014-08-13 = The iStore, Cresta Shopping Centre.
2014-08-14 = The iStore, The Glen Shopping Centre.
2014-08-15 = Vodacom Store, The Lemon Tree, Alberton.
2014-08-20 = Telkom Direct Store, Kollonade Shopping Centre, Pretoria
2014-08-22 = iStore, Centurion
According to police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Khensani “the following properties were taken – iPhones, laptops, and tablets worth over a million. They instructed the manager to open the safe. The suspects fled the scene in three vehicles, a white Corsa, a black Audi A4, and a silver Mazda.”
The Core Group, who is the official representative of Apple products in South Africa, issued the following comment:
We confirm a robbery took place at iStore Centurion this morning. The safety of our customers and staff are our number one priority, and very extensive security measures have been put in place.
The SAPS has made a number of arrests shortly after the incident. Finally, we would like to emphasise that all devices stolen from iStores will be deactivated and locked irreversibly, rendering them worthless for use and resale.
[Source – EWN]